The Healthcare Costs of Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Rural China

Abstract

Objective-The goal of this study was to assess the healthcare costs attributable to secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among nonsmoking adults (age≥19) in rural China.Methods-We analyzed data from the 2011 National Rural Household Survey which was conducted among adults in five provinces and one municipality in China (N=12,397). Respondents reported their smoking status, health conditions and healthcare expenditures. Relative risks were obtained from published sources. Healthcare costs included annual outpatient and inpatient hospitalization expenditures for five SHS-related diseases: asthma, breast cancer (female only), heart disease, lung cancer and tuberculosis. SHS-attributable healthcare costs were estimated using a prevalence-based annual cost approach.Findings-The total healthcare costs of SHS exposure in rural China amounted to $1.2 billion in 2011, including $559.0 million for outpatient visits and $612.4 million for inpatient hospitalizations. The healthcare costs for women and men were $877.1 million and $294.3 million, respectively. Heart disease was the most costly condition for both women ($701.7 Contributor statement: Hu and Mao obtained funding to conduct the National Rural Household Survey and helped collect data; Yao conducted all the data analyses and wrote the first draft of the manuscript; Max and Sung helped design the analytical approach and the data analysis and contributed to the interpretation of the analytical results. All authors provided comments, assisted in revising the drafts, and approved the final manuscript. HHS Public AccessAuthor manuscript Tob Control. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 October 01. Conclusion-The adverse health effects of SHS exposure result in a large economic burden in China. Tobacco control policies that reduce SHS exposure could have an impact on reducing healthcare costs in China.

Trends in Cigarette Smoking Among Older Male Adults in China: An Urban–Rural Comparison

“…Yang et al, 1999), risk factors (Hesketh, Ding, & Tomkins, 2001; Wang et al, 1994; Wen et al, 2007), health consequences (Gao, Smith, Hammond, & Hu, 2007; Liu et al, 1998; Zhang & Ratcliffe, 1993), and economic burden (Hu & Tsai, 2000; Sung, Wang, Jin, Hu, & Jian, 2007; L. Yang, Sung, Mao, Hu, & Rao, 2011; Yao, Sung, Mao, Hu, & Max, 2014). The prevalence of smoking remained at or above 60% between 1984 and 2002 for Chinese males (Gu et al, 2004; G.…”

Effects of the grade/price and thickness of cigarette on the PM2.5 concentration of smoke

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