Smoking has a negative effect on income and this effect is particularly marked among young people and the less educated. This “socio-economic” effect comes in addition to the better known harmful effects of smoking on health: we know that smoking increases the risk of various cancers, respiratory disorders and cardiovascular diseases:
14% of all deaths worldwide are attributed to smoking.
And, despite the decline in smoking rates since the 1990s, 18% of women and 27% of men living in high-income countries still smoke.
Smoking associated with poorer career success
The study analyzes data from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, conducted among 3,596 Finnish participants born between 1962 and 1977. Smoking was assessed for each participant, based on “pack-years”, a standard measure of cumulative exposure to tobacco (multiplication of the daily average of cigarettes smoked by the number of years of smoking). This analysis reveals that:
- a one-unit increase in the number of packet-years is associated with a 1.8% decrease in labor income;
- a reduction in smoking of the equivalent of 5 pack-years is associated with a 9% increase in revenue ;
- an increase of 1 unit in the number of packet years is associated with a decrease of 0.5% in the number of years of employment;
- there are significant income differences between smokers and non-smokers among young workers, particularly among the less educated;
- these differences are not significant among older workers: this suggests a socio-economic dimension of smoking among the younger generations, where it is less widespread, with in particular a more serious negative impact on professional performance and success;
- these differences are not observed in ex-smokers either.
What explanations? Researchers suggest that smoking negatively affects physical fitness and cognitive performance. In addition, the growing stigmatization of smoking can also lead to a form of discrimination against working people who smoke.
-It should be noted that smoking in early adulthood is closely linked to income and professional success.
There are therefore “hidden economic costs of smoking” which add to its heavy health burden.
Canada
