New ACS research released this week.
A new study by American Cancer Society researchers released this week found cumulative economic losses from cigarette smoking topped $891 billion in 2020, or 4.3% of the United States Gross Domestic Product. The economic loss significantly outpaced the cigarette industry’s $92 billion revenue by nearly a ten-to-one ratio. The study was published this week in the journal The Lancet Public Health.
This economic modelling study is one of the first to provide a comprehensive measure of economic loss from cigarette smoking on a state-by-state level. On average, states lost $1,100.00 per capita income annually from cigarette smoking. Kentucky ($1,674.00), West Virginia ($1,605.00) and Arkansas ($1,603.00) suffered the largest per capita income losses, while Utah ($331.00), Idaho ($680.00) and Arizona ($701.00) had the smallest per capita income losses.
“Economic losses from cigarette smoking far outweigh any economic benefit from the tobacco industry – wages, and salaries of those employed by the industry, tax revenue, and industry profit combined,” said Dr. Nigar Nargis, ACS senior scientific director, tobacco control research and lead author of the study. “As a society, we can mitigate these economic losses through coordinated and comprehensive evidence-based tobacco control measures, which encourage people to quit smoking and prevent people from starting to smoke in the first place.”
Lisa Lacasse, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) president, said ““The damage this industry causes on individuals’ lives and our nation’s economy is horrifying. It’s particularly alarming, but not surprising, to see some of the states with the highest economic loss have the weakest tobacco control policies in place. We know what works to reduce tobacco use and lessen this burden and it’s past time we get it done.”
Dr. Ahmedin Jemal is senior author of the study. Other ACS authors include: Dr. Samuel Asare, Zheng Xue, Dr. Anuja Majmundar, Dr. Priti Bandi, Dr. Farhad Islami, and Dr. Robin Yabroff.
Resources from the ACS on quitting smoking can be found here.
