Blue Cross: Secondhand smoke pinned at $289M in NC

The state Division of Public Health is backing an estimate by North Carolina's largest health insurer that pins the statewide healthcare costs from secondhand smoke at about $289 million a year.

The chief of the division's chronic disease section plans to discuss the report with a legislative committee in Raleigh on Tuesday. The committee is considering a bill that would ban smoking in public places, including workplaces.

The $289 million figure comes from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina staffers based on increased cases of lung cancer and other diseases. The insurance company's calculations are modeled on a peer-reviewed study published last month of the likely cost of secondhand smoke in Minnesota.