Productivity
Table 6 presents estimates of the loss of productivity in
NSW which is caused by smoking. These losses are
estimated for the paid workforce and also within the
household sector. As with the preceding cost estimates,
these are net estimates, and show the amount of resources
which would have been available if there had been no
tobacco-attributable productivity losses. The item
‘consumption resources saved’ reflects the fact that, since
smoking causes premature deaths, the level of national
resources which needed to be devoted to the provision of
consumption goods and services was lower than it would
have been in the absence of smoking.