ABSTRACTObjective To estimate the health-related economic costsattributable to smoking in China for persons aged 35 andolder in 2003 and in 2008 and to compare these costswith the respective results from 2000.Methods A prevalence-based, disease-specificapproach was used to estimate smoking-attributabledirect and indirect economic costs. The primary datasource was the 2003 and 2008 China National HealthServices Survey, which contains individual participant’ssmoking status, healthcare use and expenditures.Results The total economic cost of smoking in Chinaamounted to $17.1 billion in 2003 and $28.9 billion in2008 (both measured in 2008 constant US$). Directsmoking-attributable healthcare costs in 2003 and 2008were $4.2 billion and $6.2 billion, respectively. Indirecteconomic costs in 2003 and 2008 were $12.9 billion and$22.7 billion, respectively. Compared to 2000, the directcosts of smoking rose by 72% in 2003 and 154% in2008, while the indirect costs of smoking rose by 170%in 2003 and 376% in 2008.Conclusions The economic burden of cigarette smokinghas increased substantially in China during the pastdecade and is expected to continue to increase as thenational economy and the price of healthcare servicesgrow. Stronger intervention measures against smokingshould be taken without delay to reduce the health andfinancial losses caused by smoking.
http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/20/4/266.full.html
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