Economic evaluation of smoking induced lung diseases treatment and their social impact

Introduction: The aim of the study was to estimate and analyze the direct and indirect costs for treatment of three categories of patients with COPD and asthma - smokers, passive smokers and non-smokers after exacerbation and hospitalization in the clinic for pulmonary suppurative disease, pneumonia and bronchoscopy procedures and calculate price that society pays for one hospitalization and one patient exacerbation of each year.
Materials and Methods: We present data on 144 COPD and asthma patients with exacerbations and hospital observation of 326 hospitalized patients. The assessments of smoking, the costs are divided as to treatment (medical costs) and as non-medical costs.
Results: The results in all three groups showed significant differences as the highest average cost of therapy is in smokers, followed by passive smokers and the fewest resources are allocated to non-smokers (p<0.05). Three groups of patients differ significantly and number of days of absence from work - most smokers, followed by passive smokers and non-smokers (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The data from the analysis showed that the treatment of smokers (one exacerbation and one hospitalization per year) costs to the society only 451 BGN more than a passive smokers and 1326 BGN more than a non-smoking persons.