In fact, lung disease costs the UK a staggering £11 billion each year, according to our report, Estimating the Economic Burden of Respiratory Illness in the UK, which breaks down the cost of respiratory health to the NHS and society by lung condition.
Lung disease in the UK costs a staggering £11 billion each year.
Around £9.9 billion is falling directly on the NHS and £1.2 billion is lost to the wider economy through days off work.
This is why we are calling for an independent taskforce in both countries for respiratory health to urgently address the huge gap in healthcare services for lung disease. Progress in tackling lung disease has stagnated in the last decade.
Progress in tackling lung disease has stagnated in the last decade,
- Respiratory disease costs the UK £11 billion a year, representing 0.6% of UK GDP
- The most costly lung conditions are: COPD (£1.9 billion each year), asthma (£3 billion) and lung, trachea and bronchial cancers (£183 million)
- Comparison with other disease areas: based on direct costs, lung disease ranks as the 4th most costly disease area to the UK, after mental health conditions, musculoskeletal diseases and heart disease
- Respiratory health is a huge economic burden, costing the UK economy £1.2 billion a year; similar to mental health (£1.27 billion)
- The governments and NHS in both England and Scotland need to establish a taskforce for lung health and produce new five year strategies for tackling lung disease
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