Evaluating the Societal Costs of Potentially Preventable Illnesses: Developing a Common Approach

This paper is based on a review produced for the National Consumer Council to support their report on social marketing for health, It’s our health (National Social Marketing Centre, 2006). The aims were to explore ways of assessing the cost to society of risky behaviour and preventable illnesses based on the best available evidence,1 and to demonstrate the value of adopting a consistent approach across different types of preventable behaviours. The analysis presented here focuses on alcohol misuse, tobacco, obesity, preventable Coronary Vascular Disease (CVD) and preventable mental illness. Estimates of the health impact for each behaviour or condition are made, and the costs associated with it calculated. Unresolved issues are identified, and work for future development is suggested.