Smoking still poses huge costs on health and economies to Hong Kong
Date:2018-2-15 10:39:14 Clicks:207 【Font Size:
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A study conducted by The University of Hong Kong indicated that despite the decline in smoking prevalence, smoking still imposes a heavy burden on Hong Kong's economy and public health. In 2011, it led to 6,826 deaths and HK$5.6 billion economic loss in Hong Kong.
The study report was published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research. The research team estimated that the number of smoking-related mortality in Hong Kong people at age 35 years or above was 6,826 in 2011. Among them, 6,154 were directly killed by active smoking and 672 were attributed to exposure of secondhand smoke.
Despite smoking prevalence in Hong Kong is steadily decreased, smoking-related illnesses still poses a substantial economic burden on Hong Kong’s society. The report estimated that the total economic cost of tobacco-related illnesses in Hong Kong for 2011 was about HK$5.6 billion, including direct costs of medical and hospital expenses and indirect costs due to loss in productivity.
Smoking prevalence in Hong Kong has gradually dropped to 10.5% now, which is one of the lowest in the world. However tobacco use remained as the major threat to public health in Hong Kong and worldwide. The Government should boosts its effort on tobacco control and develop an endgame plan to minimize life and economic losses.