Healthcare Costs and Utilization of Smoking and Quitting
The goal of this study was to assess healthcare utilization and costs caused by smoking. Researchers compared trends for those who kept smoking versus those who quit, both short- and long-term.
This study contributed new data on the impact of tobacco cessation on healthcare utilization as well as cost within a large network of primary-care clinics. Specifically, researchers:
-
Obtained longitudinal data on healthcare utilization from the 1,320 smokers participating in Project 3 and from a sample of 600 continuing smokers.
-
Compared healthcare utilization and costs among continuing smokers and quitters for two years before they quit and up to three and a half years after the quit date.
-
Compared types of healthcare visits and diagnoses among quitters and continuing smokers.
-
Modeled the healthcare costs and utilization of quitters against their predicted costs had they not quit.
