As yet little work has been carried out on the cost-effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions within the NHS in Scotland. A notable exception is HEBS's mass media anti-smoking campaign which includes the telephone helpline, Smokeline. This type of mass media-led campaign appears to have been cost-effective (Ratcliffe et al 1997).
Buck and colleagues have calculated the cost-effectiveness of a range of smoking cessation interventions (HEA 1997). They estimate that costs per life year gained range from £21 to £711 when costs to the NHS and smokers are taken into account. Their analysis shows that smoking cessation is more effective in producing population health gains than almost any other medical intervention. Details are presented in Appendix Six.
Increased awareness and understanding of cost effectiveness of different smoking cessation interventions, will enable health commissioners to prioritise the services they commission. However, considerable care is required in the interpretation of cost-effectiveness data. For example, although it may appear that local No Smoking Day activities represent the best investment as they are the cheapest, it should also be noted that these activities already reach 90% of the population. Therefore, these interventions are close to achieving their maximum effectiveness and yet smoking rates have not fallen within the most disadvantages groups. The development of an effective smoking cessation strategy will depend upon investment in a range of interventions targeted at different groups within the population.