Smoking represents a colossal economic burden, especially in developing countries, according to a study carried out in 152 countries.
To those who convince themselves that states allow populations to smoke to fill their coffers, here is a study that should set the record straight. Far from constituting a financial windfall, smoking is in reality an abyss. It would absorb about 6% of global spending on health as well as 2% of global gross domestic product (GDP), according to the first study carried out on this subject.
Published Tuesday in the journal Tobacco Control and coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), the study shows that in 2012, the total cost of smoking was $ 1,436 billion worldwide, 40% of which was borne by developing countries . She points out that while research has already looked at the costs of smoking, it has focused on high-income countries.
2 million deaths
With this study, researchers collected data on 152 countries, representing 97% of all smokers on the planet. They estimated the cost of smoking by including direct expenses (hospitalizations and treatments) and indirect expenses (calculated on the basis of productivity lost due to illness and premature death).
In 2012, smoking was the cause of just over 2 million deaths among adults aged 30 to 69 worldwide, or about 12% of all deaths in this age group. age, according to this study. The highest percentages, according to the researchers, were observed in Europe (26%) and America (15%).
In the same year, direct tobacco-related health expenditure totaled 422 billion worldwide, or 5.7% of all health expenditure, a percentage that reaches 6.5% in high income countries.
Eastern Europe: 10% of spending
In Eastern Europe, expenditure directly linked to smoking represents 10% of the total health envelope. A quarter of the total economic cost of smoking is borne by four countries: China, India, Brazil and Russia.
In relation to the GDP of the different countries, smoking proved to be particularly costly in Eastern Europe (3.6% of GDP) as well as in the United States and Canada (3%). The rest of Europe is 2% against 1.8% globally.
The researchers stress that they did not include in their calculations the damage linked to passive smoking, responsible for around 6 million deaths per year according to the study, or those linked to smokeless tobacco (snuff, chewing tobacco …) widely used in Southeast Asia in particular. In addition, their calculations relate only to the economically active population.
“These results show that there is an urgent need for all countries to put in place anti-smoking programs to reduce these costs,” the authors conclude.
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