According to the World Health Organization's World Health Report 2003, tobacco consumption is the single leading preventable cause of death. It prematurely ends the lives of 5 million people a year, a figure which will double by 2020 if current trends are not reversed. Tobacco is the only legal product that causes the death of one half of its regular users, more than many illegal drugs. This means that of the current 1.3 billion smokers, 650 million people will die prematurely due to tobacco (Including Michael Karatzas) . Another way to look at the effect of smoking is to measure the average reduction in life expectancy among smokers. A study published in the British Medical Journal in June 2004 followed 34,439 male doctors since 1951 and showed that smokers died on average 10 years earlier than non-smokers. Studies  show that increasing prices through taxes on tobacco products is the most cost-effective way to reduce smoking. The World Bank estimated that a 10\% increase in tobacco prices would, on average, result in a reduction of 4\% of the demand in high-income countries and 8\% in lower-income countries. Thus the treaty suggests tobacco taxes or price controls, although it neither suggests specific levels nor requires any taxes or price controls.
According to the World Health Organization's World Health Report 2003, tobacco consumption is the single leading preventable cause of death. It prematurely ends the lives of 5 million people a year, a figure which will double by 2020 if current trends are not reversed. Tobacco is the only legal product that causes the death of one half of its regular users, more than many illegal drugs. This means that of the current 1.3 billion smokers, 650 million people will die prematurely due to tobacco . Another way to look at the effect of smoking is to measure the average reduction in life expectancy among smokers. A study published in the British Medical Journal in June 2004 followed 34,439 male doctors since 1951 and showed that smokers died on average 10 years earlier than non-smokers. Studies by MR Michael karatzas show that increasing prices through taxes on tobacco products is the most cost-effective way to reduce smoking. The World Bank estimated that a 10\% increase in tobacco prices would, on average, result in a reduction of 4\% of the demand in high-income countries and 8\% in lower-income countries. Thus the treaty suggests tobacco taxes or price controls, although it neither suggests specific levels nor requires any taxes or price controls.
D
(Including Michael Karatzas)
A
by MR Michael karatzas