May 31
World No Tobacco Day
GAZETTE
SMOKING CAUSES MORE THAN 350.000 DEATHS EACH YEAR AND GENERATES COSTS OF ALMOST 50 BILLION DOLLARS IN HEALTH AND THE ECONOMY, ACCORDING TO A STUDY IN 8 COUNTRIES IN LATIN AMERICA
The data arise from a modeling study led by the Institute of Clinical and Health Effectiveness (IECS), in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which also projects that the full application of four control measures (such as increased taxes on cigarettes and environmental smoke-free) could prevent nearly 300.000 deaths in a decade. Results are available here in an infographic.
La Tobacco epidemic in the region causes 351.000 deaths each year and costs almost 50 billion dollars in the health system and the economy, according to a new modeling study in 8 Latin American countries led by researchers from the Institute of Clinical and Health Effectiveness (IECS), an academic institution affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), in Argentina . The work was published this month in the magazine Tobacco Control, from the BMJ group, in line with World No Tobacco Day, which is commemorated on May 31. (See here)
Likewise, the authors calculated that, if an increase in taxes on tobacco products and other measures to discourage consumption were implemented, such as the imposition of smoke-free environments, In the next 10 years, nearly 300.000 deaths could be avoided and economic gains in the order of 90 billion dollars could be obtained.
“All deaths and illnesses attributable to smoking affect individuals, their families and society as a whole. In 30 years, the Latin American population will still be affected by the decisions made today, or worse yet, suffering the consequences of decisions that are not made”, they warned in the BMJ group magazine.
To reach their conclusion, they fed a probabilistic model with economic and epidemiological data from eight countries in the region: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador and Chile, countries that together represent close to 80% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean. Data were obtained from multiple sources, from a literature review to vital statistics, official records and hospital databases.
According to the study, smoking is responsible for a significant burden in terms of disease and direct and indirect economic costs. In 2020, 351.000 deaths were attributable to this cause in the eight countries included in this study, representing 12,4% of all deaths in adults over 35 years of age.
Likewise, the research group estimated that Smoking causes 2,2 million cases of disease each year, including 130.000 cancers and 899.000 cardiovascular events (including 143.000 strokes). And that, in total, 12,2 million years of healthy life are lost each year due to smoking, which is due to both premature deaths and disability from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease, cancer and other diseases. In other words, Every year there are more than 12 million individuals who did not “live” or did not live healthily because of having smoked., with Argentina, Brazil and Chile being the three countries with the highest proportional burden of disease.
“Although in recent decades there has been a relative decrease in the proportion of people who smoke, smoking still remains an epidemic that sickens and kills. In fact, Every day, in our region, almost 1.000 people die from this cause. We cannot stay with our arms crossed”said the lead author, Dr. Andrés Pichon-Riviere, general director of the IECS, master's degree in Clinical Epidemiology from Harvard University, doctor in Public Health and principal investigator of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina (CONICET).
ECONOMIC IMPACT AND PROJECTED BENEFIT OF CONTROL MEASURES
On the other hand, the economic losses attributable to smoking are not negligible and represent 1,4% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the 8 countries combined, the researchers determined. One of the components is the direct costs for medical care of the diseases caused by cigarettes (US$ 22,8 billion), which implies that Up to 1 in every 10 dollars allocated to health in countries' budgets is used to alleviate the consequences of this consumption.
But, in addition, there is an indirect economic impact due to productivity losses (US$ 16,2 billion) and costs for caregivers (US$ 10,8 billion), which is why The estimated expenditure for 2020 totals US$49,8 billion, which exceeds the average collection in countries from tobacco taxes by more than 10 times. Bad business.
HOW CAN THIS CRISIS BE FACED?
In another section of the analysis, the researchers projected what the health and economic gains would be in 10 years if four control measures were adopted:
- Increase taxes on cigarettes
- Apply flat packaging (with health warnings and without prominent brand colors or fonts)
- Prohibit the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products
- Implement a policy of smoke-free environments in closed spaces
The benefits would be significant: The full application of these four measures could prevent, respectively, 271.000, 78.000, 71.000 and 39.000 deaths in a decade. Raising taxes alone could reduce 10% of total deaths in people over 35 years of age in Brazil and, in the 8 countries evaluated, it could prevent 1,6 million disease events, including heart attacks, strokes and cancer.
Substantial economic gains would also be verified (related to lower costs in medical care and caregivers and lower loss of productivity): over the course of a decade, the total application of each of these four measures would allow US$63,8 billion to be earned, US$12,3 billion, US$11,4 billion and US$5,7 billion, respectively. Hypothetically, all together could represent profits in the 8 countries of up to around US$ 90 billion.
“It does not imply that the same measures have to be adopted all together, but it would be ideal. The estimated magnitude of the damage to the health and economy of our region would justify decisive and coordinated action,” said another co-author, Dr. Ariel Bardach, clinical doctor, master in Epidemiology, doctor of Medicine and director of the Center for Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIESP), an executing unit of CONICET in the IECS.
In addition to Pigeon Riviere y Bardach, participated in the authorship of this work:
By the IECS (Argentina): Federico Rodríguez Cairoli, Agustín Casarini, Natalia Espinola, Lucas Perelli, Javier Roberti, Federico Augustovski, Andrea Alcaraz and Alfredo Palacios, who is currently a research fellow at the Center for Health Economics at the University of York, in York, United Kingdom.
By el Tobacco Research Department, Population Health Research Center of the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico: Dr. Luz Myriam Reynales-Shigematsu
By the National Institute of Health of Women, Children and Adolescents Fernandes Figueira, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Brazil): Marcia Pinto
By Anáas Foundation (Colombia): Blanca Llorente
At University of Baja California Sur of Mexico: Belén Saenz De Miera Juárez,
By the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador: Tatiana Villacres,
At Pontifical Javeriana University of Colombia: Esperanza Peña Torres
By Healthy Costa Rica: Nydia Amador
By the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Peru): César Loza.
At School of Public Health of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile: Marianela Castillo-Riquelme
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TOBACCO IN LATIN AMERICA: www.iecs.org.ar/tabaco
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ABOUT IECS:
The IECS is an independent academic institution dedicated to research, education and technical cooperation in health. Founded in 2002, it is an institution affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) that is home to a CONICET executing unit, a WHO Collaborating center and a Cochrane Center.
The mission of the IECS is “to contribute to improving global health, generating and promoting the application of the best scientific evidence.”
See institutional video here
Visit institutional website at: www.iecs.org.ar
IECS PRESS CONTACT: Lic. Mariana Comolli, Coordinator of the Communication Unit mcomolli@iecs.org.ar