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https://theconversation.com/how-raising-tobacco-taxes-can-save-lives-and-cut-poverty-across-the-asia-pacific-197912>
"The human costs of tobacco and smoking worldwide are huge. 1.3 billion people
use tobacco, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. More than 8 million
people die prematurely because of tobacco, at an annual economic loss of at
least US$1.4 trillion. And you don’t have to be a smoker to be harmed:
secondhand smoke exposure kills nearly 400,000 women every year.
Asia is home to seven of the world’s top 10 countries with the highest number
of smokers: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and
Viet Nam. Yet, according to our recent research for the United Nations
Development Programme, not enough being done to reduce tobacco’s harms.
That’s why it’s worth pointing out a solution that really works, yet not enough
Asian nations have acted on it: raising tobacco prices through higher taxes.
As the Philippines, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand have shown, doing that –
coupled with other policy changes – can make a real difference."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
