Modelling economic and societal impact of ECAC5

Abstract Effective cancer prevention policies offer not only health benefits but also substantial economic and societal returns. This presentation will summarise findings from the joint OECD/IARC policy brief, which models the potential impact of aligning national prevention strategies with the ECAC5 recommendations for policymakers focusing on tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, obesity, and air pollution. This presentation will introduce the rationale and scope of this initiative and explain how such economic modelling can inform strategic public health planning and decision-making. It will explain the approaches used to simulate long-term effects on cancer outcomes, healthcare expenditure, productivity, and wellbeing. It will also describe the “Best in Europe” scenarios, in which countries are modelled to match the performance of the current top-performing country for each risk factor. It will be explained how this benchmarking exercise helps illustrate the potential gains of implementing ECAC5-aligned policies in Europe.