Beating tobacco for good
Action to stamp out tobacco use can help countries prevent millions of people falling ill and dying from tobacco-related disease, combat poverty and, according to a first-ever World Health Organisation (WHO) report, reduce large-scale environmental degradation.
On World No Tobacco Day — May 31, 2017, WHO highlighted how tobacco threatens the development of nations worldwide, and is calling on governments to implement strong tobacco control measures. These include banning marketing and advertising of tobacco, promoting plain packaging of tobacco products, raising excise taxes, and making indoor public places and workplaces smoke-free.
Tobacco use kills more than 7 million people every year and costs households and governments over US$ 1.4 trillion through healthcare expenditure and lost productivity. Tobacco waste contains over 7000 toxic chemicals that poison the environment, including human carcinogens.
Around 860 million adult smokers live in low- and middle-income countries. Many studies have shown that in the poorest households, spending on tobacco products often represents more than 10% of total household expenditure — meaning less money for food, education and healthcare. Tobacco contributes to 16% of all NCD deaths.
Governments collect nearly US$ 270 billion in tobacco excise tax revenues each year, but this could increase by over 50%, generating an additional US$ 141 billion, simply from raising taxes on cigarettes by just US$ 0.80 per pack (equivalent to one international dollar) in all countries.
Increased tobacco taxation revenues will strengthen domestic resource mobilisation, creating the fiscal space needed for countries to meet development priorities under the 2030 Agenda.
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