New Article: Estimating the Return on Investment of the New York Tobacco Control Program

The New York State Department of Health is pleased to announce the publication of a new manuscript entitled, Estimating the return on investment of the New York Tobacco Control Program: a synthetic control study (https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/4/e080525 ). The manuscript was collaboratively prepared by members of New York’s Tobacco Control Program evaluation team. It is published in BMJ Open, April 2024 - Volume 14 – 4.

The study estimates the return on investment of New York’s Tobacco Control Program using two metrics: smoking-attributable healthcare expenditures and deaths associated with smoking in New York State from 2001-2019. Findings indicate that reductions in adult smoking associated with Program funding have resulted in substantial cost savings and thousands of lives saved.  For every dollar spent on a strong and comprehensive tobacco control program, New York State achieves a $15 return on investment, mostly in averted health care costs to treat smoking related illness.

This large return on investment suggests that the Program is an efficient, cost-effective use of public funds because it lowers smoking prevalence, which results in lower health care expenditures and fewer deaths. Highlights from the study show that New York Tobacco Control Program funding has been associated with

·         $694 million average annual savings in smoking-attributable health care expenditures

·         $13.2 billion cumulative savings in smoking-attributable health care expenditure

·         41,700 smoking-attributable deaths averted

·         670,000 years of life lost averted