Release Date: Wednesday 9 April, 2003

DROP IN SMOKING RATES WILL SAVE MILLIONS IN DRUG COSTS

A leading Australian health economist has told delegates at a national conference on smoking that unless Australian smoking rates fall, the long terms costs for subsidised drugs to treat smoking-related heart disease will blow out to over $1.7 billion by the year 2041.

Associate Professor Susan Hurley presented forward estimates of the cost burden of drugs to treat heart disease caused by smoking at the 2nd Australian Tobacco Control Conference in Melbourne today.

Her projections cover the 40 year period of the Commonwealth Government's Intergenerational Report, released in May 2002, which predicted large increases in the cost of drugs funded through its Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

Associate Professor Hurley estimates that the PBS costs of drugs for heart disease will increase from around $126 million currently, to over $1.7 billion in 2041.

However, Associate Professor Hurley says her modelling shows that a 5% decrease in Australia's smoking rate would save $4.5 billion over 40 years.

"Achieving a 5% reduction in smoking rates would result in a meaningful reduction in the costs of treating smoking related disease in the future."

Currently, around 20% of Australian adults are smokers.

Associate Professor Hurley says that an effective method to reduce the number of adults currently smoking is to increase funding for anti-smoking advertising campaigns.

"Government investment in ongoing anti-smoking advertising campaigns would be more than offset by savings in PBS costs for heart disease drugs alone," she said.

"A small investment in prevention, such as this, would help control the increasing costs of the PBS, and, even more importantly, would decrease smoking-related illness."

For more information please contact Zoe Furman on (03) 9635 5517 or email zoe.furman@cancervic.org.au