UK food more costly to health than smoking

This important study attempts to quantify the real economic burden of food-related disease in the UK. Dramatically, it reveals that, probably even conservatively, that food-related illness creates an economic burden on the health service over three times greater than that caused by smoking. The authors of the report suggest that the importance of food-related illness have been neglected by policy-makers.

Click here for the full paper. The abstract and conclusions of the paper are given below.

One wonders how long it will take policy-makers to appreciate that a much more proactive approach to dealing with this issue is required. And when will they appreciate that appropriate use of supplementation is one of the best ways of guaranteeing optimum levels of nutrients that are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, the two greatest disease burdens in western countries?

STUDY ABSTRACT

Study objective: To quantify the burden of ill health in the UK that can be attributed to food (the burden of food related ill health).

Design: Review and further analysis of the results of work concerned with estimates of the burden of disease measured as morbidity, mortality, and in financial terms and with the proportion of that burden that can be attributed to food.

Main results: Food related ill health is responsible for about 10% of morbidity and mortality in the UK and costs the NHS about