A study recently published in Tobacco Induced Diseases presents the results of a detailed analysis coordinated by researchers from the Mario Negri Institute and ATS Brianza, aimed at calculating the economic impact of hospitalizations related to cigarette smoking in Italy.
The data used in the study were provided by the Ministry of Health. In particular, all the hospital discharge forms relating to the year 2018 of patients over the age of 30, hospitalized for one of the 12 pathologies selected for their correlation to smoking, including: lung, stroke and ischemic heart disease. In total, a sample of approximately one million hospital discharge forms was analysed. The most recent data available for the study dates back to 2018 and is therefore not affected by possible distortions caused by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on hospitalizations in subsequent years.
«The results of our study – he explains Irene Possenti, researcher at the Mario Negri Institute – indicate that cigarette smoking has a huge impact on the Italian economy, being responsible for at least 6% of all national hospitalizations. We are talking about at least 1.64 billion euros for hospitalizations caused by tobacco smoking alone.”
The graph that summarizes the conclusions of the «Mario Negri» study. The darker histogram highlights expenses due to tobacco smoking
Among the major health costs attributable to tobacco smoking, it emerged that hospitalizations for ischemic heart disease generate a cost of 556 million euros, followed by stroke with 290 million euros and lung cancer with 229 million euros. These results, probably underestimated due to the choice of conservative assumptions in the analysis phase, underline the importance of implementing smoking control measures to reduce the prevalence of smoking and, consequently, the healthcare costs associated with it.
«From an idea born to focus prevention initiatives in the field of public health in the area of Ats Brianza – he continues Luca Cavalieri d’Oro, responsible for the complex Epidemiology structure of the ATS -, with the data provided by the Ministry of Health it was possible to expand the evaluation on a national scale”.
The evidence collected encouraged researchers to think about possible strategies to contain the problem. «A significant increase in the taxation of tobacco products, and consequently in prices, certainly represents the most effective policy for reducing tobacco consumption and the onset of smoking-related pathologies – comments Silvano Gallus, head of the Styles Research Laboratory of Life of the Mario Negri Institute -. In addition to the obvious health benefits, these economic policies also lead to a significant increase in tax revenues. Currently, thanks to excise duties, the Italian state collects billions of euros from tobacco sales. However, the health costs resulting from smoking weigh on individual regions. The possibility of allowing regions to apply additional excise duties on tobacco products should therefore be considered, in order to balance the enormous health costs caused by smoking.”
Article published: Possenti I, Scala M, Rognoni M, Lugo A, Cattaruzza MS, Molinaro S, Odone A, Smits LJM, Zagà V, Gallus S, d’Oro LC. Analysis of the direct economic impact of smoking-related hospitalizations in Italy. Tob Induc Dis. 2024 Jun 3;22. doi: 10.18332/tid/188111.
