Call for more taxes on smoking to make up cuts to global aid funding

Larger taxes must be placed cigarettes All over the world, experts have warned – with progress on the struggle tobacco Use to have slowed down for the first time in decades According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Over the past decade, the number of countries with at least one tobacco control measure in place – Whether it is an increase in taxes, health warnings on packages, advertising or smoking prohibitions in public places – has increased from around 45 to more than 150. But seven tobacco control measures recommended by WHO, the manufacture of cigarettes and other tobacco products and tobacco products More expensive thanks to taxes has seen the least progress.

The WHO has put the overall slowdown in progress to disturbances during the COVVI-19 pandemic as well as the challenges posed by the need to regulate new products like[ed] To cancel the previous progress made “during the over 20 years which followed the WHO Cadre Convention on Tobacco Control.

“Price increase thanks to taxation is the most effective means of reducing tobacco consumption,” said the WHO report, adding that this measure had only increased from 13% in 2018 to 15% in 2024.

Speaking at the global conference on tobacco control in Dublin, who the director general of Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “The greatest gains were made in developing countries where, despite aggressive interference in industry, governments and civil society have shown that change is possible. However, the challenges remain.”

“The increase in tobacco taxes is a proven way of reducing tobacco consumption while generating income to reinvest in health.”

Dr. Tedros added that the increase in cigarettes taxes could help compensate for reductions in world aid financing – in particular by Donald Trump and the United Statesbut including also the United Kingdom And a number of other countries – which should strike the efforts to fight tobacco.

“And with [overseas development assistance] Falling or the level of financing for the fall of health, taxes could be used for shortcomings that occur in many countries, “he also said that he also called for more research on the impact on the health of new tobacco and nicotine products like smoking vapes and tobacco.

Andrew Black, who works on the WHO Cadre Convention on Tobacco Control, said: “We are faced with a really difficult problem, especially when it comes to securing the resources necessary to fight tobacco”.

“What we really have to do is encourage governments to seek sources of income at the national level … The very obvious place to examine is through tobacco tax,” he added.

In the United States, a tool developed by Johns Hopkins University noted that the increase in taxes on a pack of cigarettes in Kenya could collect enough money to cover more than three-quarters of the lost funds in the country across the country through foreign help Cups.

Dr. Guy Marks, president of the International Union against tuberculosis and pulmonary diseases, said: “Reducing global health funding is a huge disaster for many things. In fact, tobacco control is an area that should be less affected by it than most others than others [if governments raise tobacco taxes]. “”

“Why doesn’t it happen?” Why is that the case? Because there are huge political and other interests in countries supporting tobacco. “

Global Tobacco Industry Watchdog Stop estimated at $ 1.8 billion (1.3 tn £) The US dollars have been lost worldwide due to health care and lost tobacco -related diseases.

But some major progress has been made to control the use of tobacco worldwide over the past ten years. More countries have applied graphic health warnings to the cigarette packs since 2007 than any other measure, the prohibitions to smoke in public places being the next new most common measure to introduce.

But in many cases, countries applying health warnings struck at the cigarette packs require nothing like smoked tobacco, which, according to the one who said, “wrongly suggest that certain products are harmless”. And although there has been an increase in rules or prohibitions on electronic cigarettes, also known as vapes, more than 60 countries have no restrictions on sales of vapes.

Hazel Cheeseman, Director General of British Public Health Chariting Action on smoking and health (ASH), said progress was “encouraging” but that it was a lot to do.

“Tobacco taxes are one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking and can also increase income to support health systems. With 134 countries still progressing in this area, it is an area of ​​clearly unexploited potential, “she said.

“The end of tobacco misdeeds takes time and I hope that the British government will continue to provide assistance to other long -term countries, helping to secure a planet where no one dies tobacco -related diseases.”

This part was produced as part of the independent Rethink the world aid series