What kind of pretzel logic is this?

Early deaths caused by smoking cost the nation about $92 billion in lost productivity between 1997 and 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

Smoking reduces life expectancy an average of about 14 years by way of lung cancer, heart disease other illnesses, according to the CDC.

In the study, "lost productivity" meant lost wages.

So if I die tomorrow, my salary is considered "lost wages"? Just who is it that lost them? I thought my wages were technically still there, they're just being paid to whoever it was that took over my job. Or, if my job was eliminated and my duties split among other employees than my death actually caused an increase in productivity because the work is now being done by less people.

I don't like this idea that my earning power is somehow tied to the nation's productivity. What's next, will the government send me a bill for lost tax revenue because I had the misfortune of dying young? Oh right, I almost forgot we already have a death tax.