Counting the Toll of Smoking-Attributable Hospitalisations

Aim In Ireland, 20% of adults smoke. Many current and ex-smokers live with ill-health and disability as a result of smoking, and this study aimed to quantify the extent of smoking-related hospitalisations in Irish publicly-funded hospitals. Methods A population attributable fractions approach was used in this analysis utilising smoking prevalence data from the Healthy Ireland Survey and combining this with internationally-recognised relative-risks for current and past smoking, and hospitalisation data and hospital base costs data sourced from HIPE, for the years 2011-2016. Results In 2016, there were 21,486 day case admissions, 33,615 inpatient hospital admissions consuming 309,117 bed days, attributable to smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke, with an estimated cost of €172 million in publicly funded hospitals. This represents 2% of day case admissions, 5% of inpatient admissions, and 8% of inpatient bed days for that year. Conclusion Smoking continues to cause a considerable impact on hospital services in Ireland.