ECONOMIC-IMPLICATIONS OF SMOKING CESSATION THERAPIES - A REVIEW OF ECONOMIC APPRAISALS

There is a paucity of studies on the economics of smoking cessation. T hose undertaken have investigated only a narrow range of available int erventions, using variable methodologies which make interstudy compari sons problematical. There is a need for more economic appraisal in thi s area and for greater consistency in the methodologies employed. Grow ing evidence on the effectiveness of pharmacotherapies has not been ma tched by evidence of their cost effectiveness, and studies in this are a, particularly on transdermal nicotine, are urgently required. Cost-b enefit analyses (CBAs) have focused on programmes targeted at pregnant women and indicate that resource savings, mainly from reductions in t he number of low birthweight neonates, can exceed the costs of the mea sures. Efforts to persuade pregnant women to quit thus appear to be hi ghly cost beneficial, but further evidence on the efficiency of measur es targeted at other groups or to the general population of smokers is required. Cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) suggest that measures ta rgeted at specific groups are more cost effective than those targeted at the general population of smokers, and that the cost effectiveness of such programmes is further improved by providing educational materi als that are specific to the targeted groups. Advice on how to maintai n abstinence appears to improve the cost effectiveness of help with qu itting, and routine advice from physicians to their smoking patients i s a cost-effective way of reducing smoking prevalence.