The Horizon Health Network is going to take a more proactive approach to get people to stop smoking.
The annual cost to health care exceeds 3 thousand dollars a smoker.
Horizon Health has achieved a success rate of 25 per cent in getting smokers to quit. It’s President and C-E-O John McGarry says the payback is huge and shows not every health care fix requires high tech and a large expenditure of money.
McGarry points out 32 percent of hospital bed days between 2001 and 2012 were attributable to smoking, the over consumption of alcohol, poor diets and a lack of exercise.
19 to 20 per cent of the population in New Brunswick smokes which is considered high.
Horizon Health is calling on the province to spend more on getting people to butt out.
