Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Dec;15(6):464-71.
doi: 10.1136/tc.2006.016030.

Mortality, morbidity and costs attributable to smoking in Germany: update and a 10-year comparison

Simone Neubauer  1 , Robert Welte, Alexandra Beiche, Hans-Helmut Koenig, Katharina Buesch, Reiner Leidl
Affiliations

Mortality, morbidity and costs attributable to smoking in Germany: update and a 10-year comparison

Simone Neubauer et al. Tob Control. 2006 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the negative health consequences and associated costs of cigarette smoking in Germany in 2003 and to compare them with the respective results from 1993.

Methods: The number of deaths, years of potential life lost (YPLL), direct medical and indirect costs caused by active cigarette smoking in Germany in 2003 is estimated from a societal perspective. The method is similar to that applied by Welte et al, who estimated the cost of smoking in Germany in 1993. Therefore, a direct comparison of the results was possible. Methodological and data differences between these two publications and their effect on the results are analysed.

Results: In 2003, 114,647 deaths and 1.6 million YPLL were attributable to smoking. Total costs were euro21.0 billion, with euro7.5 billion for acute hospital care, inpatient rehabilitation care, ambulatory care and prescribed drugs; euro4.7 billion for the indirect costs of mortality; and euro8.8 billion for costs due to work loss days and early retirement. From 1993 to 2003, the proportionate mortality attributable to smoking remained relatively stable, rising from 13.0% to 13.4%. The smoking-attributable deaths in men is lowered by 13.7% whereas that in women increased by 45.3%. Total real direct costs rose by 35.8%, and total real indirect costs declined by 7.1%, rendering an increase of 4.7% to real total costs. Accountable factors are changes in cigarette smoking prevalence and in disease-specific mortality and morbidity, as well as a rise in general healthcare expenditure.

Conclusions: Despite the growing knowledge about the hazards of smoking, the smoking-attributable costs increased in Germany. Further, female mortality attributable to smoking is much higher than it was in 1993.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Poetschke‐Langer M, Schunk S. Germany: tobacco industry paradise. Tob Control 200110300–303. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung Die Drogenaffinität Jugendlicher in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2004—Teilband Rauchen [Drug affinity among young people in the Federal Republic of Germany 2004]. Köln 2004
    1. Statistisches Bundesamt Finanzen und Steuern, Fachserie 14, Reihe 9. 1. 1. Absatz von Tabakwaren [Finance and taxes, series 14 (9.1.1), tobacco sales]. Wiesbaden: Metzler‐Poeschel, 2005
    1. Welte R, König H ‐ H, Leidl R. Tobacco—the costs of health damage and productivity losses attributable to cigarette smoking in Germany. Eur J Public Health 20001031–38.
    1. Ruff L K, Volmer T, Nowak D.et al The economic impact of smoking in Germany. Eur Respir J 200016385–390. - PubMed

MeSH terms