Smoking disease costs NHS £5bn – Negative externalities revision

Last week I wrote that smoking is costing businesses £2.1bn due to sickness and time wasting breaks. Researchers have now calculated that smoking disease costs the NHS £5bn a year, five times more than previously thought. This article along with the one last week would be perfect for revising negative externalities. I have also written some more GCSE style questions to go with it.

1. State one other negative externality associated with smoking (1 mark)
2. Discuss possible ways of reducing negative externalities associated with smoking. Which one do you think would be most successful? Give reasons for your answer. (8 marks)
3. Explain one other reason for taxation of tobacco, apart from the reduction of negative externalities (3 marks)