Smoking and Human Health: Socio-economic Analysis

Abstract

Smoking causes a large number of diseases in human beings. About six million people die each year due to smoking, and predictions have shown that this number will increase to ten million in 2030. Pakistan has the highest consumption of tobacco in South Asia. Cross sectional data was used for study and it was collected through personal interviews of 175 respondents from different areas of Faisalabad, Punjab. Study focused on the determinants of smoking and its impact on the economy of households. Logistic regression model was used because the dependent variable is of dichotomous nature. The effects of smoking on the economy of household were measured by expenditures on diseases caused by smoking. The main determinants of smoking   included the presence of smokers in family and friend circle, low level of education and marital status. The results of underlying study revealed that smokers have had more diseases as compared with their counterparts and hence medical expenditures of smokers were found greater than those of non-smokers. In the light of study findings, we suggest that government should launch awareness programs to help smokers in quitting smoking. People need to know that if they stop smoking, they can save their smoking expenditures that will eventually be spent on basic needs and medical expenditures. Study data showed that the majority of smokers were unable to attribute reasons for unsuccessful quitting.