Irish Cancer Society welcomes report on economic cost of smoking
The Irish Cancer Society has welcomed today’s report published by the Department of Health, “An assessment of the economic cost of smoking in Ireland”, that shows per year smoking costs:
• €506 million to the healthcare system
• Over €1 billion in lost productivity
• €6 million in damage from fires caused by smoking materials (€3.9m due to fires and €2m due to loss of life as a result of fires)
Speaking on the report’s publication, Donal Buggy, Head of Services and Advocacy at the Irish Cancer Society said: “This is a positive and significant contribution to the existing evidence on tobacco consumption and its effects, and covers a broad range of costs associated with smoking.”
“This type of study has never been carried out in Ireland before and its findings are very comprehensive. What this report shows is that smoking places an onerous financial burden on the work of the health services, with the cost of smoking to the healthcare system in 2015 accounting for nearly 4% of the overall health budget for that year. It is also clear that smoking has significant financial costs for society, the environment and the Irish economy.”
Meanwhile, the estimated number of deaths caused by smoking each year at 5,870 has increased on previous estimates of 5,200 deaths per annum.
Mr. Buggy said: “The increase in the estimated number of deaths caused by smoking each year is largely due to more cancers and other respiratory diseases being attributable to smoking than was previously understood. The strain smoking places on individuals’ health is strongly evident in the report.”
In 2015, 81,430 days in hospital beds were given over to cancers caused by smoking, while 6,350 inpatient admissions were patients with cancers caused by smoking. Meanwhile, the loss of welfare from morbidity related to smoking and premature mortality were estimated at €1.5 billion and €8 billion respectively.
Mr. Buggy said: “Great strides have been made in reducing smoking rates in recent years, thanks to public health legislation, strong prevention messages and improved supports for those who want to quit, and now less than 1 in 5 people in Ireland smoke, while smoking rates among children have fallen to 8%.”
Since the publication of the Tobacco Free Ireland Report in 2013, the smoking rates for adults have fallen from a rate of 22% among adults and 12% among children.
Mr. Buggy said: “We hope that these findings will provide impetus and support to the implementation of recommendations made in the Tobacco Free Ireland report, and highlight the importance of achieving our goal of a tobacco-free Ireland by 2025.”
The Department of Health have committed to a Tobacco Free Ireland by 2025 – which means an overall smoking rate of less than 5%. Mr. Buggy said that: “although it is ambitious, with the right commitment from Government, it can be achieved.”
For more information, please contact:
Paul Gordon, Policy Officer, Irish Cancer Society
(01) 2310 540 / 087 615 3889
