Counting The Costs Of Smoking

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(Friday) March 5, 2010

By staff
alexandrianews.org

Although the number of people who smoke cigarettes has continued to decline, hundreds of thousands of people in Virginia and the United States continue to light up every day. Virginia has the 12^th lowest smoking rate in the nation. As of 2008, 2.4 million Virginians, about 40.5% of the population, have tried smoking. Nearly 60% have tried to quit and 40% continue to smoke. One in six Virginians, about 973,000 people, were smokers in 2008.

The U.S. and Virginia smoking rates are at their lowest since 1997, according to the Virginia Department of Health. In 1997, 24.4% of Virginians smoked versus 23.2% nationwide; in 2002, 24.6% of Virginians and 23.2% of Americans smoked and in 2008, 16.4% of Virginians and 18.4% of Americans smoked.

Men are more likely to smoke than women. In 1997, 26 percent of Virginia males and 22.9% of females smoked; in 2002, 28.7% of Virginia males and 20.8% of females smoked and in 2008, 17.1% of Virginia males and 15.8% of females smoked.

Virginia’s recent passage of a smoking ban in restaurants and bars will have an effect on smokers. Most restaurants are now smoke-free, but many still permit smoking if there is a separate ventilation system and entrance for the smoking section. Since since the bill was signed into law last December, 78% of more than 16,300 Virginia restaurants remained or have become smoke-free, according to the VDH.

The Cost

In the U.S., an estimated $96 billion is spent on medical care for smokers and former smokers suffering from diseases caused by smoking. In Virginia, medical care costs for smokers and former smokers are $2.08 billion a year, according to the VDH.

In the U.S., smoking costs $97 billion each year in productivity (lost wages and household services). In Virginia, the costs of lost productivity due to smoking are estimated to be $2.53 billion per year.

• At least $1.4 to $4.0 billion is spent annually in medical care costs for health and developmental problems among infants and children caused by mothers’ smoking (or exposure to secondhand smoke) during pregnancy or exposure to parents’ smoking after birth.

• In the U.S., $4.98 billion is spent each year on medical care for non-smokers suffering from lung cancer or heart disease caused by exposure to secondhand smoke. An additional $4.68 billion is spent on lost wages and services.

• In Virginia, an estimated $105.3 million is spent annually to treat illnesses associated with secondhand smoke.

The Risks

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, ahead of obesity. One-in-five people in the U.S. will die each year from smoking related diseases. Deaths from lung cancer (128,900), ischemic heart disease (126,000) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (92,900) combined account for 78% of all smoking-related deaths.

On average, 9242 Virginians will die each year from smoking-related illnesses, according to the VDH. Overall, Virginians die at a rate of 267 deaths per 100,000 each year from smoking-related causes. Men in Virginia are more likely to die from smoking-related diseases than women, particularly from cancer (173.7 versus 69.8 per 100,000) and from cardiovascular diseases combined (126.6 versus 53.8 per 100,000).

Smoking reduces life expectancy by 14 years. Cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemical compounds and at least 400 toxic substances. When smokers inhale, a cigarette burns at 700°C at the tip and around 60°C in the core. This heat breaks down the tobacco to produce various toxins. As a cigarette burns, the residues are concentrated toward the butt.

The most damaging ingredients in a cigarette are:

• Tar, a carcinogen

• Nicotine, addictive and adds cholesterol levels in your body

• Carbon monoxide, which reduces oxygen in the body
The damage caused by smoking is influenced by:

• The number of cigarettes smoked

• Whether the cigarette has a filter

• How the tobacco has been prepared.

For each person who dies from smoking, there are 20 people who have a smoking caused disease and disability. In 2000, there were 12.7 million cases of severe chronic illnesses caused by smoking, affecting 8.6 million people in the U.S.

• Chronic bronchitis (35%), emphysema (24%), and previous heart attack (19%) were the most prevalent types of health conditions.

• Only one percent of cases were lung cancers.

• Former smokers were affected just as much as current smokers: 7.3 million health problems were reported by former smokers, compared to 5.4 million health problems reported by current smokers.

• In Virginia, there were an estimated 310,400 health conditions, affecting 211,000 current and former smokers.

There is evidence that cigarette smoking increases the risk for:

• Pregnancy complications and spontaneous abortion (miscarriage)

• Low birth weight, premature birth, stillbirth, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

• Difficulty conceiving for women, impotence in men

• Slower recovery from surgery, post-surgical complications, including infections and pneumonia; delayed wound healing due to a lower immune response

• Periodontal disease

• Rheumatoid arthritis

• Peptic ulcers

• Low bone density and hip fractures among post-menopausal women.

In Virginia, 15.5% of high school students smoke (girls: 14.5%, boys: 16.6%], according to the VDH.

• High school males who use smokeless tobacco: 12.7%

• Kids (under 18) who try cigarettes for the first time each year: 31,100

• Additional Kids (under 18) who become new regular, daily smokers each year: 9,300

• Packs of cigarettes bought or smoked by kids in Virginia each year: 15.2 million

• Kids exposed to second hand smoke at home: 336,000

Quitting

In 2008, the The Youth Tobacco Survey found a 28.6 percent decline in high school smoking over two years — with 15.5 percent of Virginia high school students smoking in 2007, compared with 21.7 percent in 2005.

These steps will help smokers quit for good, according to www.smokefreevirginia.org, a website run by the Alliance for the Prevention and treatment of Nicotine Addiction:

• Get ready: Set a date, change your environment, review past attempts to quit and once you quit don’t take even a puff!

• Get support: Studies show that you have a better chance of success if you have help. You can get support from family, friends, coworkers, your health care provider, a counselor or a support group (such as Nicotine Anonymous).

• Learn new skills and behaviors: Distract yourself, change your routine, use stress reduction techniques, drink a lot of water, exercise.

• Formal classes are one source of skills training but there are also self-help materials and quit kits available at low or no cost online.

• Get and Use Medication: There are seven medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration that can help. Use nicotine replacement products (gum, the patch, lozenges, nasal spray & inhalers), bupropion SR (Zyban) and Chantix. All of these medications will more or less double your chances of successfully quitting.

• Prepare for a relapse: Most relapses occur within the first three months. Don’t be discouraged – most people try several times before they finally quit. Typical difficult situations to watch out for: alcohol, other smokers, weight gain, a bad mood or depression.

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