How does tobacco consumption affect individuals and families?
At the individual and household level, money spent on tobacco can have a very high opportunity cost. For the poor, money spent on tobacco is not money spent on basic necessities, such as food, shelter, education and health care. Also tobacco users are at much higher risk of falling ill and dying prematurely of cancers, heart attacks, respiratory diseases or other tobacco related diseases, thus depriving families of much-needed income and imposing additional health-care costs.
