Messages encouraging smokers to quit could be added to the inside of cigarette packs, at the government’s suggestion.
The appendices would outline the health and financial benefits of quitting and direct people to the support they need, the health ministry said.
Quitters can expect to see improvements in their breathing within days, a 50 per cent reduction in the risk of a heart attack within a year and save an average of £2,000 a year.
A consultation launched today, which will run until October, is seeking views on the proposals and the design of the inserts.
Around 76,000 people in the UK die each year from smoking, which remains one of the leading preventable causes of illness and death, according to the NHS.
Quitting can expect to see improvements in their breathing within days, a 50 per cent reduction in heart attack risk within a year and save an average of £2,000 a year
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘By taking action to reduce smoking rates… we will take the pressure off the NHS and help people live healthier lives’
It is responsible for almost 4 per cent of hospital admissions – equivalent to nearly 450,000 a year – and tobacco-related harm is estimated to cost taxpayers £21bn each year, including more than £2bn in costs to the NHS. Inserts are already being used in other countries, including Canada and Israel.
An analysis of the policy impact in Canada found that nearly one in three smokers had read the package inserts at least once a month, and those who had been exposed to them several times were significantly more likely to quit.
The government says the introduction of leaflets could lead to an additional 30,000 smokers quitting, bringing health benefits worth £1.6 billion.
The consultation is part of the government’s effort to deliver on its pledge to make the country smoke-free by 2030, which represents a drop in smoking rates to less than 5 percent.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘By taking action to reduce smoking rates… we will take the pressure off the NHS and help people live healthier lives.’
The start of the consultation comes as the government today publishes its first report on its strategy for major conditions, which covers the six groups of conditions responsible for 60 per cent of all ill health and early deaths in England.