Secondhand smoke cost adds up for county
Secondhand smoking costs Marion County $47.5 million or about $54 per person annually in medical expenses, a study released Wednesday by Indiana University researchers finds.
The report, which comes a week before the City-County Council will vote on a stricter workplace smoking ban, cited expenses for ambulatory care, clinic visits, prescriptions, hospital visits and loss of life among nonsmokers. It was sponsored by Smoke Free Indy and Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation.
Nearly 100 adults, children and infants in Marion County died in 2008 from exposure to secondhand smoke, deaths that could have been prevented, the study’s authors argue.
Secondhand smoke exposure can lead to lung, breast and other cancers, spontaneous abortions and asthma. In children, it contributes to low birth weight, sudden infant death, allergies and ear infections.
The study did not include smokers’ health-care costs.
Smoking “is not only a significant health problem but also an economic concern,” said Terrell Zollinger, associate director of Indiana University’s Bowen Research Center and study author. “Who pays for these costs? We all do.”
City-County Council members who support the ban welcomed the report.
“This study shows us to the dollar what the effects of secondhand smoke are,” said Councilman Brian Mahern. “At the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves: ‘Are we going to have a healthy community?’ ”
Many other cities and 27 states have similar bans. Hookah and cigar bars would be exempt from Indianapolis’ ban, which would apply to about 400 establishments.
Skeptics of the need for the proposed ban found Wednesday’s report equally troubling.
“How do they know that the deaths were caused by secondhand smoke? I have never seen a death certificate that said ’secondhand smoke,’ ” said Councilman Lincoln Plowman. “The whole issue is clouded.”
Passing the measure would put bars out of business, said Plowman, a nonsmoker who plans to vote against it.
A stricter smoking ban would not drive down the costs of secondhand smoke exposure dramatically, Zollinger said. Many people are exposed to smoke in their own homes.
“Enacting this ordinance will not save us $50 million next year,” Zollinger said. “It’s a step in the right direction.”
In addition, the proposal fits with the city’s efforts to encourage healthy lifestyles by adding amenities such as bike lines and parks, Mahern and others say.
About 11 Indiana municipalities have similarly comprehensive ordinances against workplace smoke, including Bloomington and Zionsville, said Karla Sneegas, executive director of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation.
The state considered but did not pass a workplace ban on smoking last session. State legislators have pledged not to give up on the effort.
Other states have passed laws after many of their large municipalities put in place local ordinances against smoking, Sneegas said.
“If we were able to see something like that for the whole state, it would be tremendous,” she said.
By Shari Rudavsky
October 22, 2009
