Death And Taxes

41 Pages 10133 Words

Death and Taxes
Economics of Tobacco Control

Death and Taxes
Economics of Tobacco Control

Contrary to long-standing beliefs, tobacco-control policies can lead to huge health benefits without harming economies.

About 1.1 billion people worldwide smoke, and, with current trends, the number is expected to rise to more than 1.6 billion by 2025. In high-income countries, the number of smokers has, overall, been declining for decades, although it continues to rise in some population groups. In low- and middle-income countries, by contrast, cigarette consumption has been increasing.
Few people now dispute that cigarette smoking is damaging human health on a global scale. Smoking-related diseases are already responsible for 1 in 10 adult deaths worldwide. By 2030, perhaps sooner, the ratio will be 1 in 6, or 10 million deaths a year, making smoking the largest single cause of death. Until recently, this epidemic of chronic disease and premature death affected mainly the populations of rich countries, but it is rapidly shifting to the developing world. By 2020, 7 of every 10 people who die from smoking-related diseases will be from low- and middle-income countries.
Despite these trends, many governments have avoided taking action to control smoking because of concern about potential economic harm. For example, some policymakers fear that reduced sales of cigarettes would mean the permanent loss of thousands of jobs, particularly in agriculture, and that higher tobacco taxes would result in both lower government revenues and massive cigarette smuggling. Recent research allays these fears.
Health effects of smoking
Smoking has two major health consequences. First, the smoker rapidly becomes addicted to nicotine, whose addictive properties, although well documented, are often underestimated. Second, smoking ultimately causes disabling and fatal diseases, including cancers of the lung and other organs, ischemic heart disease and...