New study highlights global economic impact of smoking

New research has demonstrated the significant financial impact of smoking on healthcare systems and global economies.

Published in the journal Tobacco Control, the study analysed data from 152 countries representing 97 percent of the world's smokers, including countries in Africa, the Americas, the eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Southeast Asia and the western Pacific.

A total cost of $1.44 trillion (1.14 trillion pounds) was associated with smoking in 2012, with nearly 40 per cent of this sum coming from developing countries. In total, it was calculated that smoking consumes almost six percent of the world's total spending on healthcare and nearly two per cent of global GDP.

Diseases caused by smoking accounted for 12 percent of all deaths among working-age adults aged 30 to 69, while the number of working years lost because of smoking-related ill health came to 26.8 million.

The researchers concluded: "These findings highlight the urgent need for all countries to implement comprehensive tobacco control measures to address these economic costs, while also helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the member states."

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