Estimation of the Cost of Smoking-Attributable Diseases (Five Selected Diseases): A Case in Kerman City, Iran, 2014

BACKGROUND: Cigarette seems to be the least valuable of addictive drugs. It is easily accessible to the public, and its harmful personal and social effects have attracted less attention. Therefore, the present research was carried out with the aim of presenting cost estimations of smoking-related diseases in smokers who aged 35 or higher in Kerman City, Iran, in 2014. METHODS: Using the prevalence approach, the direct and indirect costs of smoking-attributable diseases including lung cancer, gastric cancer, myocardial infarction, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were estimated. The initial data were obtained from the information in documents of medical document units as well as the 2014 income statements of teaching hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman City. FINDINGS: In this research, total economic costs of diseases attributed to smoking were estimated to be 50 million dollars in 2014 in Kerman City, and calculations suggest that this figure accounts for 0.02% of Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP). Total direct cost of diseases caused by smoking in Kerman City adds up to 17 million dollars, whereas the estimated indirect cost of diseases caused by smoking is 33 million dollars. The yearly per capita cost of any of the selected five diseases is 270 dollars. CONCLUSION: Smoking places a high economic burden on health system and society as a whole. Therefore, stronger intervention measures against smoking should be taken without delay to reduce the health and financial losses caused by smoking.