THE HUMAN COSTS OF TOBACCO USE .2.

Economic Costs of Tobacco Use The per capita consumption of cigarettes has risen and fallen, depending on particular events (Figure 3)69. Deaths from smoking-related illnesses, however, have climbed, possibly reaching a peak or plateau in 19881. Studies70 have placed the costs of smoking for the United States as a whole at a staggering $65 billion in 1985 in terms of health care expenditures and lost productivity, a value that would surely exceed $100 billion in current dollars. The estimated average lifetime medical costs for a smoker exceed those for a nonsmoker by more than $6,00071. This excess. © 1994, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.