[The effects of implementing a smoking cessation intervention in Spain on morbidity, mortality and health care costs].
OBJECTIVE
We estimated the effect that a smoking cessation intervention in the Spanish population of smokers would have on smoking-related morbidity, mortality and health care costs.


METHODS
We adopted the model Health and Economic Consequences of Smoking sponsored by the WHO Health Organization and developed by the The Lewin Group. The smoking cessation intervention proposed includes pharmacological treatment to 35% of smokers who are trying to quit smoking and obtains a quit rate of 7.2%. The diseases studied are: lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma exacerbation, and low birth weight. The smoking-related cases of disease and of averted death and the reduction in health care expenditure due to the intervention were estimated.


RESULTS
Without intervention, at year 1 of the model, 2,136,094 smokers would be affected by some smoking-related disease; health care expenditure would be 4,286 million e and deaths attributable to smoking would total 26,537. The proposed intervention would prevent 2,613, 9,192, 17,415 and 23,837 cases of smoking-related disease at years 2, 5, 10 and 20 of the model, respectively. The saving in accumulated health care costs would amount to 3.5 million e at year 2 and 386 million e over 20 years. The accumulated prevented deaths are 284 at year 2 and 9,205 over 20 years. The intervention would save a total of 78,173 life-years by the end of the period considered.


CONCLUSIONS
The availability of new effective smoking cessation interventions and the increase in accessibility to such interventions may contribute significantly to reducing morbidity, mortality and health care costs associated with smoking in Spain.
González-Enríquez
J
J
Agencia de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. jgonza@isciii.es
Salvador-Llivina
T
T
López-Nicolás
A
A
Antón De Las Heras
E
E
Musin
A
A
Fernández
E
E
García
M
M
Schiaffino
A
A
Pérez-Escolano
I
I
D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000191:economics; D013030:Spain