a saving of $211 billion in health care costs

Books about quitting smoking tend to focus on the immediate health benefits for the individuals who manage to give up cigarettes for good. A new book however has looked at how a whole nation would benefit if smoking was immediately stopped and all smokers just had to quit cold turkey!

The book called After Tobacco written by a trio of economic scientists Peter Bearman, Kathryn Neckerman and Leslie Wright examined the huge economic impact of the 46 million American people who presently smoke quitting immediately. After factoring in the fact that the local cigarette industry would disappear overnight which would have some pretty drastic financial repercussions the researchers looked at the positive financial aspects of the American nation quitting cold turkey.

For example, they estimated that if everybody stopped smoking in 2006 by 2025 there would be almost 3 million deaths avoided and this would lead to a saving of $211 billion in health care costs. The real financial benefits however of the American people quitting smoking would not be just seen in reduced health care costs but would be seen in a massive surge of productivity in all industries across the American economy. Research has shown that offices and organisations which don't have smokers are much more efficient and productive than smoking establishments.

You might think that a nation which went cold turkey on cigarettes might become more obese but smoking is definitely the number one preventable cause of death and illness in developed nations more so than obesity. It should also be remembered that smoking encourages productivity which in turn encourages physical exertion. Yes, it is true that some people who quit smoking put on weight but you cannot justify a smoking habit as a form of diet control.

Nations need to understand that for every single one of their citizens who quits smoking they will reap a financial dividend. Investing in smoking cessation programs will always pay off in the long term.