The World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Cancer Institute of the United States have just published a study on smoking in the world which draws an alarming conclusion. “The number of tobacco-related deaths is expected to increase from around six million to eight million deaths annually by 2030, 80% of them in low- and middle-income countries” emphasizes the WHO, which regrets that national governments do not use the tools at their disposal to limit smoking.
According to the WHO, less than $1 billion was invested in smoking restriction policies by governments in 2013-2014 while the consequences of smoking (the amount of money needed to treat smoking-related diseases and the cost of lost productivity due to work absenteeism) cost the global economy nearly $1 trillion a year.
All countries should increase cigarette taxes
As the WHO points out, the most effective way to encourage stop smokingis to impose a high tax on cigarettes. But many low-income countries refuse to raise taxes for fear of losing part of their income and seeing an explosion in smuggling.
The WHO therefore fears an increase in deaths due to cigarettes in these countries, especially since they are now the targets of the tobacco industry because of the drastic measures taken in the richest countries (banning of smoking in public, neutral package…).
The WHO lists 1.1 billion smokers worldwide, 80% of them in low- and middle-income countries.
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