Objective: To estimate the direct out-of-pocket medical costs of treating major diseases attributable to smoking in Thailand in 2006.
Material and method: A prevalence-based, disease-specific, approach was used to estimate the direct medical costs of treating lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and coronary heart disease (CHD) attributable to smoking. Epidemiological parameters were obtained from the literature; historical out-of-pocket cost data were used to estimate 2006 expenditure.
Results: The number of cases attributable to smoking in 2006 was 5,299 for lung cancer, 624,309 for COPD, and 52,605 for CHD. The out-of-pocket expenditures for treatment were 368.49 million baht for lung cancer, 7,714.88 million baht for COPD, and 1,773.65 million baht for CHD. Total smoking-attributable out-of-pocket medical costs amounted to 9,857.02 million baht, 0.48% of GDP in 2006.
Conclusion: The prevalence-based, disease-specific, analysis described here shows that the health and economic impact of smoking in Thailand are substantial, and should be reduced by implementing smoking-cessation and related tobacco control policies of the types found effective in reducing the prevalence of smoking in other countries.