ECONOMIC COST ATTRIBUTABLE TO SMOKING COMPARISON: USA VS Europe VS ISRAEL. WHICH COUNTRY SPENDS LESS?

Total Economic Cost Attributable To Smoking

Comparing USA Vs. Europe top countries (Germany, France, Italy) Vs. Israel

• Israel's total economic cost attributable to smoking is 51.9 times better than world average

• Israel's total economic cost attributable to smoking is 216.67 times better than USA

• Israel's total economic cost attributable to smoking is 23.43 times better than Euro-top

Important Key Facts

• The indirect cost of smoking-attributable diseases is estimated at PPP$1385 billion (US$1014 billion), with disability accounting for PPP$446 billion (US$357 billion) and mortality accounting for PPP$939 billion (US$657 billion), respectively. The total economic cost of smoking is thus estimated at PPP$1852 billion (US$1436 billion), equivalent in magnitude to 1.8% of the world’s annual GDP. Almost 40% of the total economic cost occurs in low-income and middle-income countries reflecting the substantial loss these countries suffer due to tobacco use. Indeed, the four BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) account for as much as 25% of the total economic cost of smoking.

• The economic burden of smoking is proportionately highest in Europe, where the cost of smoking-attributable diseases is equivalent in magnitude to 2.5% of the region’s annual GDP. This includes significant sub-regional variation, with the costs in Eastern Europe amounting to as much as 3.6% of GDP compared with 2.0% in the rest of Europe. Similarly, the costs in Canada and the USA combined represent 3.0% of GDP compared with 1.0% in the rest of the Americas. The cost of smoking-attributable diseases is proportionately lowest in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region where smoking prevalence and the intensity of tobacco use is currently low compared to the ‘high burden’ populations like Eastern Europe. Many countries in Africa and other regions are still at an early stage of the epidemic, and the full societal cost of smoking may not be evident yet.

Credits

Source: TOBACCO CONTROL BMJ 2018 (based on 2018 stats)