“By changing harmful habits you save up to 1 billion euros”

2023-10-06 16:02:00

The change by Italians of some of the habits most harmful to health – cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and poor physical activity – could lead to estimated annual savings of up to 1 billion euros for the health and economic system . These are the results of research – previewed on the Brunel University of London website – conducted by Francesco Moscone, economist at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and London’s Brunel University, who used Istat and Eurostat sources to calculate potential savings for the Italian healthcare sector through the adoption of strategies capable of reducing the risk of related diseases such as, in the case of smoking, lung cancer, respiratory and cerebrovascular system diseases.

One of the main results of the study – we read on the English university website – concerns smoking and the decisive effect it has on avoidable deaths and hospital discharges. The research estimates that a decrease of just 1% in smokers in all Italian regions could translate into savings of around 331 million euros. But the findings suggest that if 50% of smokers switched from high-risk products, such as traditional cigarettes, to smokeless alternatives, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, the NHS could save €722 million per year. year in terms of smoking-related illnesses. The Lombardy Region could benefit most from the savings, linked to a lower incidence of smoking-related diseases, which would save around 140 million euros every year.

The research also analyzed the impact of inadequate levels of physical activity. A 1% reduction in the population aged 3 and over who never plays sports would lead to savings of approximately 223 million euros. To a lesser extent, but far from negligible, equal to around 60 million euros, savings could be made from the reduction, even by just one unit, in the number of heavy drinkers currently estimated per thousand inhabitants. The study, in shedding light on the complex relationship between lifestyle choices – smoking, alcohol and physical activity – and the impact on public health and the country’s economy, also offers the hope that, by promoting healthier alternatives, as in the case of smoking, there is the potential to save lives and significantly reduce the burden on the NHS and free up resources for a healthier and more prosperous future for all.