Do smokers impose costs on the rest of society?
Apparently some, but less than most people think. The Centers for Disease Control contends that smokers incur $50 billion in health care expenses – an amount equal to $2.06 per pack at current smoking levels. However, smokers mainly pay their own way. Of the $2.06, only 89 cents represents costs for nonsmokers – primarily borne in the form of taxes to support Medicare and Medicaid. Moreover, smokers create a positive (if ghoulish) benefit for nonsmokers. Because they die earlier, smokers avoid health care expenses that might have otherwise been incurred over a longer life. They also save society money in Social Security payments and private pension benefits. When that element is factored in, a Rand Corporation study found that the net cost smokers create for nonsmokers equals about 28 cents a pack at 1993 prices. Is an increase in the tobacco tax needed to make smokers pay their own way? No. Since current federal and state taxes total 52 cents a pack, smokers are paying more than their
