Mortality and Economic Costs From Regular Cigar Use in the United States, 2010

Objectives. We estimated annual mortality, years of potential life lost, and associated economic costs attributable to regular cigar smoking among US adults aged 35 years or older. Methods. We estimated cigar-attributable mortality for the United States in 2010 using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs methodology for smoking-related causes of death. We obtained cigar prevalence from the National Adult Tobacco Survey, relative risks from the Cancer Prevention Studies I and II, and annual US deaths from the National Vital Statistics System. We also estimated the economic cost of this premature mortality using the value of a statistical life-year. Results. Regular cigar smoking was responsible for approximately 9000 premature deaths and more than 140 000 years of potential life lost among US adults aged 35 years or older in 2010. These years of life had an economic value of approximately $ 23 billion. Conclusions. The health and economic burden of cigar smoking in the United States is large and may increase over time because of the increasing consumption of cigars in the United States.