Cost of Smoking In RI Is $2 Million Per Person Over Lifetime
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Smokers in Rhode Island cost nearly $2 million in tobacco costs, healthcare costs and income loss to feed their smoking habits. According to a study by Wallethub, is the fifth most expensive place to smoke in the country among all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
According to the American Lung Association, across the United States, tobacco kills 480,000 people a year, and another 16 million Americans are living with a tobacco-caused disease. Economic costs of smoking are more than $300 billion, which includes both heatlhcare costs and loss of income.
SEE MAP BELOW: Where Does RI Rank Against Other States?
When ranking the states and estimating the total cost of smoking in each state, Wallethub calculated the cost of a cigarette pack per day, health care costs, income losses and miscellaneous costs for an 18-year-old person with a lifespan of 51 years. The average age a smoker dies is 69.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn tobacco costs alone, Rhode Island smokers pay out nearly $1.5 million during their lifetime. Additionally, smokers from the state spend $224,000 on health insurance costs (49th in U.S.) and lose $227,000 (33rd in U.S.) in income due to their smoking habits.
Among New England states, Rhode Island finished ahead of Connecticut (#50) and Massachusetts (#48). Vermont (#43), New Hampshire (#41) and Maine (#38) all finished in the lower-third of the rankings as well.
According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, "Rhode Island’s adult smoking rate has seen a dramatic reduction from 23% in 2001 to 17.4% in 2012."
RI Gets an "F" in Tobacco Prevention
Rhode Island has received an "F" grade for Tobacco Prevention from the American Lung Association as part of its "State of Tobacco 2015" report. The state also received a "D" grade in Access to Cessation Services. In better news, Rhode Island received an "A" grade in Smoke-Free Air and a "B" grade in Tobacco Taxes.
According to American Lung Association in Rhode Island, these grades can be improved upon if elected officials take the following steps:
- Increase funding for the state's tobacco control program to $4 million per year
- Raise the price of tobacco products other than cigarettes to prevent youth initiation
- Close loopholes in the state smokefree workplace law, including for casinos/gaming establishments and hookah bars
TOBACCO COST PER STATE:
Related Slideshow: New England’s Healthiest States 2013
The United Health Foundation recently released its 2013 annual reoprt: America's Health Rankings, which provides a comparative state by state analysis of several health measures to provide a comprehensive perspective of our nation's health issues. See how the New England states rank in the slides below.
Definitions
All Outcomes Rank: Outcomes represent what has already occurred, either through death, disease or missed days due to illness. In America's Health Rankings, outcomes include prevalence of diabetes, number of poor mental or physical health days in last 30 days, health disparity, infant mortality rate, cardiovascular death rate, cancer death rate and premature death. Outcomes account for 25% of the final ranking.
Determinants Rank: Determinants represent those actions that can affect the future health of the population. For clarity, determinants are divided into four groups: Behaviors, Community and Environment, Public and Health Policies, and Clinical Care. These four groups of measures influence the health outcomes of the population in a state, and improving these inputs will improve outcomes over time. Most measures are actually a combination of activities in all four groups.
Diabetes Rank: Based on percent of adults who responded yes to the question "Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have diabetes?" Does not include pre-diabetes or diabetes during pregnancy.
Smoking Rank: Based on percentage of adults who are current smokers (self-report smoking at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and currently smoke).
Obesity Rank: Based on percentage of adults who are obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 or higher.
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