Smoking-related health costs down in aggressively anti-tobacco state

SAN FRANCISCO — One of the first states to implement a comprehensive tobacco program, California has realized an actual cost decrease of more than 13% for smoking-attributable costs for 2009, according to an article in Nicotine & Tobacco Research published Wednesday.

 

Researchers estimated expenditures for smoking-attributable costs (healthcare, lost productivity from illness and lost productivity from premature mortality) in 2009 came to $18.1 billion, amounting to $487 per California resident and $4,603 per smoker.

 

In two previous studies, conducted in 1989 and 1999, the annual financial impact of smoking on California's economy was tallied at $7.6 billion and $15.8 billion, respectively. Nominally, the figures show a 15% increase in the last decade, but inflation-adjusted totals show a very different picture: the total cost of smoking in 1999 expressed in 2009 constant dollars was $20.8 billion. Real costs have actually decreased by over 13%.

 

"The California tobacco control program has been very effective," stated Wendy Max, the study's lead author. "But there remains work to be done, especially in light of the changing landscape of tobacco products."

 

Many recent changes in smoking behavior are thought to have contributed to the 13% decline. Adult smoking prevalence in California has fallen from 21.6% of adults in 1989, to 18.7% in 1999 and to 13.6% in 2009. In 2010, that number fell again with just 11.9% of the state's adults smoking. 

 

Additionally, among those who continue to smoke, there has been a downward trend in smoking intensity - more smokers fell into the category of "nondaily" smokers, and both nondaily and daily smokers reported smoking fewer cigarettes per day, on average. Population shifts in the state, including a greater proportion of Hispanic and Asian Californians, are also worth noting, as these two population groups both have relatively low smoking prevalence.