ProductsMayo Clinic Tobacco Quitline:
Economic Impact of Tobacco Use on Employers
Mayo Clinic Tobacco Quitline is a URAC-
accredited health call center.
Measuring the Cost — The Economic Impact of Tobacco Use
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking costs approximately $157 billion each year — or $7.18 per pack of cigarettes. Adult smokers consume an average of 1.3 packs of cigarettes a day, or 472 packs a year per smoker. Using this calculation, the average annual cost to employers is $3,391 per smoker, or approximately $1,300 more per year than the cost of a nonsmoker.
An estimated 8% to 11% of all medical claims paid each year are for smoking-related conditions. $75.5 billion is spent annually on medical care because:
- Smokers have a 30% higher risk of hospitalization than do nonsmokers, and they average longer hospital stays.
- Pregnant smokers have higher rates of miscarriage, premature births and low birth weight babies.
- It costs $336 million each year to care for infants of smoking mothers; children of smokers have higher rates of asthma and ear infections.
The impact of smoking on U.S. worker productivity accounts for $81.9 billion annually because:
- Death occurs prematurely (due to lung cancer, heart disease and chronic airway obstruction).
- Smokers average 14% more sick days each year than do nonsmokers.
- Smokers are less productive at work than are nonsmokers.
The CDC study also cites a variety of factors associated with smoking that contribute to increased expense for organizations not included in the costs outlined above, including death and illness due to cigar smoking, pipe smoking and smokeless tobacco; smoking-related disability; secondhand smoke-related disease, and illness and discomfort among exposed nonsmokers.
Mayo Clinic Tobacco Quitline — A Solution That Works!
Our industry-leading quit rates assure clients that even a small percentage of smokers who quit pay for the program. Participants benefit from the increased health and quality of life, as well as the financial relief associated with no longer purchasing tobacco products.
We have a variety of educational materials, customized for enrollees, that outline the health and financial benefits of tobacco cessation. We focus largely on the health outcomes through our materials rather than the financial impact, as this is a secondary benefit and not generally what motivates the tobacco user to quit.
