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The main cost of smoking in that study is value of life, the cost of premature deaths. But in terms of raw dollars it's different. If smokers die 10 years earl
by rjbhtrf 10y ago
The main cost of smoking in that study is value of life, the cost of premature deaths.
But in terms of raw dollars it's different. If smokers die 10 years earlier, that's 10 years less of unproductive period in life, retirement.
No pensions, no medical costs, no living expenses. They pay and save for retirement, but don't use it.
- nl 10y agoActually medical costs associated with smoking are extremely significant. I'm not aware of any studies showing that they are less than average costs associated with death in old age.
- rjbhtrf 10y agoI don't know Australia, but in Poland total taxes from tobacco and alcohol are similar to income tax, and to healthcare budget. -Tobacco and alcohol tax: 40 billion PLN 2013 [1] -Personal income tax 42 billion PLN 2012 [2] -Healthcare budget: 64.5 billion PLN 2013 [3] Cigarettes (and to a lesser extent alcohol) account for 2/3 of whole healthcare, for everyone! And smokers pay retirement insurance for whole life, statistically getting nothing. Especially when being male; females have 5 years lower retirement age and live 7.8 years longer. 5+7.8+10=22.8 years difference. So a male smoker pays every month, but gets nothing. [1] - http://natemat.pl/77753,alkohol-i-papierosy-sa-dla-polskiego-budzetu-wazniejsze-niz-podatek-pit http://natemat.pl/77753,alkohol-i-papierosy-sa-dla-polskiego... [2] - http://www.pit.pl/aktualnosci-podatkowe/2011/archiwum-2011-v/0905-ile-panstwo-zarabia-na-podatkach-9854/ http://www.pit.pl/aktualnosci-podatkowe/2011/archiwum-2011-v... [3] - http://pulsmedycyny.pl/2642297,42366,znamy-budzet-nfz http://pulsmedycyny.pl/2642297,42366,znamy-budzet-nfz
- nl 10y agoThe post you replied to had how much it raises in Australia: AU$2B/year. That compares to AU$258B/year in income tax[1]. The health, aged care and sport spending allocation is AU$89.5B[2] [1] http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/5506.0 http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/5506.0 [2] http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/budget2016-mediarel-ley001.htm http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/C...
- rjbhtrf 10y agoThat's interesting! Completely different.
- spangry 10y agoHere you go, latest Inter-Generational report: http://imgur.com/a/UWFAa http://imgur.com/a/UWFAa Your tax/public expenditure curves cross roughly when you turn 62. By 70 the government spends on you more than twice what you pay in taxes. 75 it's 3 times as much. 80, it's 4.5. The expenditure curve is pretty much asymptotic by that point.
- brokenmachine 10y ago> They pay and save for retirement, but don't use it. Since we're throwing around random opinions... Would you say that the kind of person that continues such an expensive habit nowadays despite what everyone knows about smoking is the kind of person who "pays and saves for retirement"? Poorer, less-educated people are much more likely to smoke. How about we also take this into account when we're speculating about how much they might be saving.
- rjbhtrf 10y agoIn many countries retirement insurance is automatically witheld from salary. In Poland it's 19,52% of salary. https://www.mpips.gov.pl/ubezpieczenia-spoleczne/ubezpieczenie-emerytalne/skladka-na-ubezpieczenie-emerytalne/ https://www.mpips.gov.pl/ubezpieczenia-spoleczne/ubezpieczen... In Australia it's 9% http://crr.bc.edu/briefs/australia%E2%80%99s-retirement-system-strengths-weaknesses-and-reforms-2/ http://crr.bc.edu/briefs/australia%E2%80%99s-retirement-syst...