This report will help analysts and policymakers intent on improving health within the framework of sound economic policies. Full text available on this site. Smoking already causes one in 10 adults deaths worldwide. Until recently, deaths and disease caused by smoking mainly affected rich nations but the impact is now rapidly shifting to the developing world. By 2030, tobacco will kill 10 million people each year, the biggest single cause of death worldwide.
Few people dispute that smoking is damaging health on a global scale.
However, many governments have been wary of acting to control smoking through higher taxes, comprehensive bans on advertising and promotion, or restrictions on smoking in public places due to concerns that interventions such as these could have harmful economic consequences. Countries that adopt measures to reduce tobacco use can prevent millions of premature deaths and much disability , especially among the poor. These measures generally will not harm economies. In almost all countries, there would be no net loss of jobs. Evidence shows that higher tobacco taxes generate increases in revenues.