The Price of Smoking

Abstract

What does a pack of cigarettes cost a smoker, the smoker's family, and society? This longitudinal study on the private and social costs of smoking calculates that the cost of smoking to a 24-year-old woman smoker is $86,000 over a lifetime; for a 24-year-old male smoker the cost is $183,000. The total social cost of smoking over a lifetime—including both private costs to the smoker and costs imposed on others (including second-hand smoke and costs of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security)—comes to $106,000 for a woman and $220,000 for a man. The cost per pack over a lifetime of smoking: almost $40.00. The first study to quantify the cost of smoking in this way, or in such depth, this accessible book not only adds a weapon to the arsenal of antismoking messages but also provides a framework for assessment that can be applied to other health behaviors. The findings on the effects of smoking on Medicare and Medicaid will be surprising and perhaps controversial, for the authors estimate the costs to be much lower than the damage awards being paid to 46 states as a result of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement.

Does smoking affect schooling? Evidence from teenagers in rural China

“…Previous studies have considered the medical costs of smoking-caused diseases, financial costs of smoking-caused morbidity and mortality, property loss in smoking-caused fire, long-term special education care for low-birth-weight babies of smoking mothers, and expenditures on tobacco prevention and controls (Sloan et al, 2004). The present study argues that there is an additional cost to consider.…”

An economy of scales: A selective review of obesity's economic causes, consequences, and solutions

“…Knowing the magnitude of these external costs would be useful when tailoring policies designed to internalize them through health insurance premia, taxes on items like energy-dense foods, or incentives for weight loss by the obese. Models for such an analysis are Sloan et al (2004), which calculated the external costs of smoking, and Manning et al (1991), which estimated the external costs of heavy drinking, smoking, and sedentary lifestyles.…”

Robustness in health research: Do differences in health measures, techniques, and time frame matter?

“…Whether smoking positively affects mental health is an open question. For a more detailed review on smoking and health, see Sloan et al (2003Sloan et al ( , 2004.…”