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From: berman@psuvax1.UUCP (Piotr Berman)
Newsgroups: net.med,net.consumers,net.politics
Subject: Re: The Hidden Costs of Smoking
Message-ID: <1970@psuvax1.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 18-Jan-86 00:56:40 EST
Article-I.D.: psuvax1.1970
Posted: Sat Jan 18 00:56:40 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 19-Jan-86 21:01:58 EST
References: <162@decvax.UUCP>
Organization: Pennsylvania State Univ.
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Xref: lsuc net.med:1967 net.consumers:2320 net.politics:2951

> The "Wellness Letter", a newsletter published by the University of
> California, published an article on the hidden (pocketbook) costs of
> smoking.  The article quoted a report to Congress by the Office of
> Technology Assessment.  The report estimated that "the annual medical
> bill for lung cancer, coronary heart disease, and other ailments
> directly attributable to smoking runs between $12 billion and $35
> billion annually." 
> 
On the other hand, the retirement funds and social security may save
a bundle.

> Also, "an estimated $27 billion to $61 billion evaporates each year
> because of sick days, lost wages, and lower productivity. This is a
> rough figure that includes such items as the projected earnings of
> those who die of smoking-related diseases."  But, it doesn't include
> "other real losses, such as those from cigarrete-caused fires, which
> kill 1,500 people yearly and injure another 4,000." 
> 
Wages lost are not necessary a net loss in an economy without full
employement.  As pointed above, we may talk here about zero-sum
game: some people do not collect wages and retirement, but others
collect the wages and pay less for the retirement.  "Other real losses"
are not included  because apparently they are trivial.

> "Karl Kronebusch, project director at OTA, states the cost as follows:
> when averaged out, smoking costs evry man, woman, and child in the
> United States from $110 to $260 per year in lost productivity and
> wages.  When you add to that another $50 to $150 annually in medical
> care (paid for primarily by taxes and health insurance premiums), that
> comes to $160 per capita on the low side, $410 on the high side." 
> 
> Abstracted by
> 
> Martin Minow
> decvax!minow

If one takes the lower estimates, subtracts not claimed retirement,
cigarette taxes and the portion of medical care covered by smokers
personally, it may happen that the costs for non-smokers are negligible.