August. Feb. 29, 2022 — Nearly 123,000 cancer deaths in the United States in 2019 — or nearly 30 percent of all cancer deaths — were related to smoking, a new analysis shows.
This equates to more than 2 million person-years lost in life and nearly $21 billion in lost annual income.
“Over the past few decades, smoking rates in the U.S. have declined substantially, followed by a dramatic drop in mortality from lung cancer and some other smoking-related cancers,” lead author, American Cancer Society said Farhad Islami, senior scientific director of cancer disparity research.Our findings suggest that smoking is still associated with approximately 30% of cancer deaths and substantial loss of income in the United States, and more should be done to further reduce smoking in the country,” he said.
The study was published online August 10 in the International Journal of Cancer.
Islami and colleagues have It was found that lost income from cancer deaths was nearly $95 billion in 2015. Other studies have shown that a significant portion of lost income from cancer deaths can be traced back to smoking, but is estimated to be more than a decade old.
To provide a more recent estimate and to help guide tobacco Control policy, Islami and colleagues estimated the number of years of human life lost (PYLL) and lost income due to smoking-related cancer deaths in 2019.
At ages 25 to 79 Of the 418,563 cancer deaths in adults in The average lost income per cancer death in 2009 was $170,000.
By cancer type, lung cancer accounted for approximately 62%, or $12.9 billion, of total smoking-related lost income, This was followed by esophageal cancer (7 percent, or $1.5 billion), colorectal cancer (6 percent, or $1.2 billion), and liver cancer (5 percent, or $1.1 billion).
In The 13 “tobacco nation” states with weaker tobacco control policies and higher smoking rates have the highest smoking-related mortality rates. These states are Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan State, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Total revenue loss rates for all 13 tobacco countries vs. other states and Columbia The D.C. combined is about 44% higher, and tobacco nation states have a 47% higher annual PYLL rate.
The researchers estimate that if PYLL and loss of all states have the same income rate as Utah State matched, Utah had the lowest interest rates, more than half of the PYLL and national revenue losses could have been avoided. In other words, this This means savings of 1.27 million PYLL and $10.5 billion in 2019.
End ‘The Scourge’ of Tobacco’
To quit smoking, healthcare providers should “screen patients for tobacco use, document tobacco use, advise smokers to quit, and assist in attempts to quit smoking,” Islami said.
Getting more people screened for lung cancer is also important in the U.S., as only 6.6% of eligible people were screened in 2019.
Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said in a statement that the report “further demonstrates the importance of reducing tobacco for ending cancer suffering and death.”
END THE LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL “Tobacco Scourge” Lawmakers need to pass proven tobacco control policies, she said.
These policies include periodic and substantial increases in tobacco taxes, sweeping statewide smoke-free laws, and adequate funding for state programs to prevent and quit smoking. It also means ensuring that all Medicaid enrollees have access to all services that can help smokers quit, as well as all FDA-approved medications to help users quit.
“We have the tools to help smokers quit. To get this done, we just need lawmakers to act,” Lacas said.
