Tobacco use costing Saskatchewan economy $1.1 billion yearly
A report commissioned by the Canadian Cancer Society is estimating there is a $1.1 billion yearly price tag associated with the use of tobacco in Saskatchewan.
The Cost of Tobacco Use in Saskatchewan report, conducted by GPI Atlantic, argues that the $1.1 billion cost of tobacco use to the provincial economy is offset by only 18 per cent thorugh tobacco tax revenue. The report also contends that smoking and exposure to second hand smoke killed 1,561 people in 2005, so tobacco accounted for approximately one out of every five deaths in the province.
“40 percent of smoking-related deaths in Saskatchewan are from cancer not to mention the impact on other serious illnesses such as heart and lung disease,” says Keith Karasin, executive director for the Canadian Cancer Society. “But this report also puts hard numbers on the financial impact tobacco has on our province, economically and socially.”
The report, released on Oct. 27, argues the “real costs” of tobacco add up quickly. They highlight these costs include $167.6 million in direct healthcare for hospital, physician and drug expenditures to treat smoking-related illnesses. The indirect costs of tobacco use, such as productivity losses from premature death and disability, are estimated to be an additional $535.2 million. Employees who smoke cost Saskatchewan employers $413 million through absenteeism, on-the-job productivity loss and insurance costs. The report also estimates that fires caused by smoking cost an additional $1.9 million.
“Approximately half of the $1.1 billion that tobacco is costing this province is being borne by taxpayers, most of them non-smokers,” says Donna Pasiechnik, Manager of Tobacco Control for the Canadian Cancer Society. “The cost of investing in a plan to reduce smoking is small compared to the costs of doing nothing.”
The Canadian Cancer Society has been advocating for several years that the province needs a well-funded tobacco control strategy that includes higher tobacco prices, hard-hitting public education campaigns and more smoke-free policies.
Overall smoking rates in Saskatchewan have been declining, dropping from 26 per cent in 1999 down to 20 per cent in 2008. Tobacco use among teenagers has fallen over the same period from 31 per cent to 20 per cent.
“Despite the progress we’ve made, Saskatchewan still has some of highest smoking rates in Canada. This is an issue that affects all of us all so whether you’re a healthcare provider, an employer, a community leader or a smoker, we all have a responsibility to work together to address this major health issue. Government can not do this alone,” said Pasiechnik.
The full report is available at www.cancer.ca/sk.
