The Romanian health system paid some EUR 270 million in 2012 for treating diseases caused by smoking, from less than EUR 1 billion allotted for treating diseases associated to smoking, according to the first study on the economic impact of tobacco consumption on the public health system.

In 2012, total health expenditure amounted to EUR 4.9 billion, so the amount spent on treating illnesses caused by smoking was 5.7% of the total.

The study also reveals that 1.89 million people were hospitalized in 2012, for all four categories of diseases associated with smoking. Of this total, over 550,000 cases were directly connected to smoking.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com