The paper describes the economic aspects of the prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD), which must be taken into account when developing and providing a rationale for preventive measures aimed at promoting the health of the population. The economic damage of CNCD and risk factors includes not only the costs of the health care system, but also losses in various sectors of the economy, which should be borne in mind when calculating the damage. The paper gives the results of Russian and foreign studies estimating the economic damage from CNCD. The economic efficiency of preventive measures should include the full spectrum of positive effects of health promotion rather than the impact on access to health care. From an economic point of view, population-based measures, primarily those recommended by the WHO, are most appropriate. The authors review foreign studies of the cost-effectiveness of population-based prevention and note that that there are scarce Russian investigations in this area, which can be one of the barriers to decision-making on their implementation at the federal and regional levels.