For the third straight month the number of Americans who continue to smoke topped 21 percent, despite the fact that access to life’s basic necessities such as food, shelter, medicine and healthcare reached a four-year low, according to the October 2011 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index (WBI).
The WBI basic access index, which measured 81.2 percent in October, indicates the impact that smoking costs may be having on the nation’s healthcare system. It shows that even in an environment where healthcare costs continue to rise, 30 percent of people who didn’t have enough money to pay for healthcare and/or medicine are smokers. By contrast, of the Americans who can afford to pay for healthcare and medicine in the past 12 months, only 14.2 percent are smokers. In addition, the WBI showed that 27.5 percent of people without a personal doctor are smokers.
“The October WBI smoking and basic access numbers reveal an alarming disparity in the U.S. population, and show an immediate need for individuals to take steps to improve their own well-being, proactively controlling these costs,” said Ben Leedle, Jr., Healthways president and CEO, in announcing the October figures.
When it comes to access to necessities other than healthcare and medicine, the WBI also showed a strong correlation between lack of access and smoking habits. Poll data shows that of the 20 percent of people who reported not having enough money to buy food at some time in the past 12 months, 34.9 percent are smokers, while only 13.8 percent of those who were able to afford to buy food are smokers. A similar pattern was noted among those who could or couldn’t afford shelter in the past 12 months.
According to the American Lung Association, the average price of a pack of cigarettes in the United States is $5.51. But it lists the direct costs to the country at more than $18 per pack sold when factoring in direct costs of healthcare related to smoking, along with the costs of worker productivity losses and the costs of premature death.