Australia: New Report Shows Children Bear Cost of Passive Smoking

The Age

Half of the West Australians who died as a result of passive smoking in 1998-1999 were aged under 14, new research has shown. The research by two health economists for the WA Cancer Council revealed passive smoking was responsible for the deaths of 18 people in 1998-1999, with nine of them aged under 15 or unborn babies.

The Counting the Costs of Tobacco report, released today, showed smoking cost WA $1.6 billion that year - equal to half the yearly cost of running the entire state health system.

Director of the Cancer Council's tobacco program, Denise Sullivan, said the report, which followed a similar study in 2001, revealed vital information about who was paying for tobacco use in WA and how much.

"This report uncovers the real price the Western Australian community has to pay for smoking and at $1.6 billion a year, and rising, it is a cost that is too great for us to keep paying," she said.

"Alarmingly it is children who are bearing the brunt of passive smoking with the report showing that almost 96 per cent of all hospital costs arising from passive smoking were attributable to patients in the 0 to 14 age group."

The majority of the hospital costs for this age-group were related to conditions such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

The WA branch of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) today called for an immediate toughening of anti-smoking legislation in WA.

"As a result of cigarette smoking children are dying, there is massive cost to the community, business is suffering and yet the state government does nothing," AMA WA president Paul Skerritt said.

"Princess Margaret Hospital (in Perth) sees hundreds of children every year with preventable asthma as a result of parents who smoke, and patrons and staff at our pubs and clubs face serious health risks because of passive smoking," he said.

The report showed reducing the prevalence of smoking in WA to 15 per cent or less by 2010 could potentially amount to savings of between $370 million and $733 million for the state.

It also revealed, for the first time, the $250 million cost of smoking-related workplace absenteeism in the state.