I went to see a dog show at a local park yesterday and was chatting to a pleasant young man with glossy leaflets and clipboard who was there to sign up people to agree to give up smoking. He is one of eight people employed by the NHS in the London borough I live in to carry out this work. People ring up and pledge to give up smoking (usually on No Smoking Day.) His team ring them back to check on progress. Invite them to meetings to be told to keep it up.
How many people give up smoking who wouldn't have given up anyway? Pretty few I would guess. The endless nannying and indoctrination is probably pretty irrelevant. People have got to that stage will already know that smoking is bad for you. The cost is considerable. Perhaps equivalent to giving everybody in our borough who wanted one a free flu jab. Or of something that could make a real difference for a targeted group to give up smoking. Free hypnosis for pregnant women for instance.
I don't suppose that the NHS has given special treatment to Hammersmith and Fulham. So there are probably thousands of these people employed around the country. Leave aside the libertarian argument about smoking being a matter of choice. Leave aside the crude financial argument that smokers pay huge tax and as it happens are a smaller burden on the NHS because they die younger and so reduce the requirement for geriatric care. Even in terms of improving health, is it at all likely this great anti smoking army represent good value for money?
