The Cost of Smoking

Paper Summary:

This paper addresses the costs of smoking on society by evaluating the impact on health, the various economic costs attributed to smoking, and the taxation measure utilized to reduce the demand for tobacco. Issues that are addressed include the social costs of smoking, whether smokers cover the smoking-related costs that the rest of the community bears, and whether the average lifetime health care costs of tobacco users is higher than those of non-smokers. It also looks at whether tobacco taxes are an effective measure to reduce the demand for tobacco and reduce health care costs imposed by smokers.

From the Paper:

"Do smokers cover the smoking-related costs that the rest of the community bears? Typically, these costs are covered by tobacco tax revenues imposed by governments to compensate the public sector, which are borne by the smokers themselves. However, a high percentage of the smoking-attributable costs are borne by private individuals or by business (Collins and Lapsley, 2003). Smokers impose direct health costs on non-smokers, which include irritation and nuisance. There may also be a cost from fires, environmental degradation, and deforestation from tobacco growing and processing, and from the consequences of smoking (Jha and Chaloupka, 1999). Smokers impose physical costs on others as well as possible financial costs. In theory, smokers would smoke less if they took these costs into account, because the socially optimal level of consumption, in which resources are efficiently distributed in society, is reached when all costs are borne by the consumer."

More papers on The Cost of Smoking:

• Persuasive Essay # 115274 : "The Harmful Effects of Smoking"
• Persuasive Essay # 150252 : "Smoking Bans in New York City Restaurants"
• Essay # 43561 : "Smoking Trends"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: