The consequence of smoking a pack of cigarettes is estimated to cost the nation $7.18 per pack in medical care and lost productivity, or about $157 billion and 440,000 premature deaths each year, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published April 12 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Of the 22 billion packs of cigarettes purchased in 1999, the CDC found that $3.45 per pack was spent on medical care costs related to smoking, and a cost of $3.73 each more in lost productivity because of premature death from smoking, totaling $7.18 per pack. Overall, the economic cost of smoking equaled about $3,391 per smoker per year.

The CDC found that smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable death in the US, resulting in an estimated 440,000 premature deaths annually from 1995 through 1999. On average, adult men and women smokers lost 13.2 and 14.5 years of life, respectively, because they smoked.

Economic costs during the same period were $81.9 billion in productivity losses from deaths (average for 1995 to 1999) and $75.5 billion in excess medical expenditures in 1998, according to the CDC. The reported medical and productivity losses were larger than previous estimates of $53 billion and $43 billion, respectively.

Other findings from the new study included:

• Each year from 1995 through 1999, smoking caused more than 264,000 deaths in men and more than 178,000 deaths in women.
• Among adults, most deaths were from lung cancer (124,813), heart disease (81,976) and lung disease (64,735).
• Smoking-related cancer and lung disease deaths in women increased from 1995 to 1999.
• Smoking during pregnancy resulted in more than 1,000 infant deaths annually.
• Neonatal costs were $366 million or $704 per pregnant smoker in 1996.

"These are costs we all pay in higher taxes to fund government health care programs, like Medicare, and in higher health insurance premiums," said John R. Seffrin, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society.

"The highest price of all is paid by the families of smokers," said Seffrin, "who must watch loved ones suffer from any number of deadly tobacco-related diseases.

"Particularly alarming is the CDC's assertion that if current trends continue, 6.4 million of our children will not live full lives because of tobacco. Tobacco prevention programs and cigarette tax increases are proven ways that we can stop youth smoking.

"Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the US. Initiatives that help people quit smoking or prevent them from ever starting are crucial investments we must continue to make," said Seffrin.