Life Quality measures of smoking

The cost of smoking has three principal dimensions: money, reduced life expectancy, and diminished health. Each component can be quantified; all have an influence on the quality and duration of life. The combined influence can be evaluated using an aggregated social indicator, such as the Life Quality Index. It can be expressed in various ways, e.g. as an equivalent move to a nation or to a time with a lower level of the LQI, as an equivalent economic loss, or as an equivalent loss of life expectancy. To illustrate, the analysis is applied to Danish data on smoking; the cost for a typical pack-a-day habit is equivalent to a 57% reduction in personal income, 8.6 years loss of life expectancy, or a 4% drop in the Life Quality Index. These measures underscore the seriousness of smoking as a health hazard.