Social harm due to tobacco-related diseases

The study of Health Economics has had a great advance in the context of national research illustrating the concern with one of the most controversial and important issues in society. This book deals with the analysis of the social damage to the SUS - Sistema Único de Saúde - reflecting the economic social and legal effects inherent to tobacco users and derivatives on society. Smoking is considered a global pandemic that generates losses estimated at around 200 billion reais to countries mainly developing countries according to the WHO in addition to the five million deaths recorded annually. The American Cancer Society in its studies presents that for every five deaths one is caused by tobacco use in the USA. In Brazil data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) show that about 17% of the population is smokers which is relevant for studying the impacts of tobacco use on society.