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The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on July 13, 2005
The European Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/eurpub/cki024
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.
Received November 11, 2003
Accepted May 24, 2004

Article

The total lifetime health cost savings of smoking cessation to society

Susanne R. Rasmussen 1*, Eva Prescott 2, Thorkild I. A. Sørensen 3, and Jes Søgaard 1

1 DSI Danish Institute for Health Services Research, Copenhagen, Denmark
2 Copenhagen Centre for Prospective Population Studies, Institute of Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
3 Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, Institute of Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Susanne R. Rasmussen, E-mail: srr{at}dsi.dk


  Abstract

Background: Smoking cessation has major immediate and long-term health benefits. However, ex-smokers' total lifetime health costs and continuing smokers' costs remain uncompared, and hence the economic savings of smoking cessation to society have not been determined. Methods: The economic effects of smoking cessation in a lifetime perspective have been examined by comparing the health costs of continuing smokers and ex-smokers by quantity of daily tobacco consumption, age, gender and disease group, while taking differences in life expectancy and the reductions in relative risks after cessation into account. Results: The total lifetime health cost savings of smoking cessation are highest at the younger ages. Although the economic savings vary with age at quitting, gender and quantity of daily tobacco consumption, all ex-smoking men and women who quit smoking at the age of 35 to 55 years generate sizeable total lifetime cost savings. At older ages, the total lifetime health cost savings of smoking cessation are of little economic consequence to the society. The total, direct and productivity lifetime cost savings of smoking cessation in moderate smokers who quit smoking at the age of 35 years are 24 800 euro, 7600 euro, and 17 200 euro in men, and 34 100 euro, 12 200 euro, and 21 800 euro in women, respectively. Conclusions: Lifetime health cost savings of smoking cessation to society are substantial at younger ages, in terms of both direct and productivity costs.

Keywords: cost savings; health care costs; life tables; smoking; smoking cessation.
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