Cost of youth tobacco-control policies in seven European countries

Abstract Background Tobacco-control policies have been suggested to reduce smoking among adolescents. However, there is limited evidence on the real-world costs of implementation in different settings. In this study, we aimed at estimating the costs of school smoking bans, school prevention programm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of public health 2020-04, Vol.30 (2), p.374-379
Main Authors: Leão, Teresa, Perelman, Julian, Clancy, Luke, Hoffmann, Laura, Kinnunen, Jaana M, Mélard, Nora, Nuyts, Paulien A W, Richter, Matthias, Rimpelä, Arja, Lorant, Vincent, Kunst, Anton E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescents
Bans
Belgium
Costs
Education
Europe
Finland
Germany
Health care expenditures
Health policy
Humans
Implementation
Inspection
Intervention
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Nicotiana
No-smoking policies
Portugal
Prevention
Public health
Purchasing power
Retrospective Studies
Sales
Schools
Smoke-Free Policy
Smoking
Smoking Prevention
Tobacco
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Summary:Abstract Background Tobacco-control policies have been suggested to reduce smoking among adolescents. However, there is limited evidence on the real-world costs of implementation in different settings. In this study, we aimed at estimating the costs of school smoking bans, school prevention programmes and non-school bans (smoking bans in non-educational public settings, bans on sales to minors and bans on point-of-sale advertising), implemented in Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Portugal, for 2016. Methods We retrospectively collected costs related to the inspection, monitoring and sanctioning activities related to bans and educational activities related to smoking prevention programmes. We used an ‘ingredients-based’ approach, identifying each resource used, quantity and unit value for one full year, under the state perspective. Costs were measured at national, regional, local and school-level and were informed by data on how these activities were performed in reality. Results Purchasing power parities adjusted-costs varied between €0.02 and €0.74 (average €0.24) per person (pp) for bans implemented outside schools. Mean costs of school smoking bans ranged from €3.31 to €34.76 (average €20.60), and mean costs of school educational programmes from €0.75 to €4.65 (average €2.92). Conclusions It is feasible to estimate costs of health policies as implemented in different settings. Costs of the tobacco control policies evaluated here depend mainly on the number of person-hours allocated to their implementation, and on the scale of intervention. Non-school bans presented the lowest costs, and the implementation of all policies cost up to €36 pp for 1 year.
ISSN:1101-1262
1464-360X
DOI:10.1093/eurpub/ckz150