Public health measures aimed at reducing tobacco use have saved countless lives in recent decades. But there are still around 1.2 billion tobacco users globally, and tobacco-related diseases kill about 7 million people annually, according to the World Health Organization.
In Australia, high taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco control policies have achieved sharp declines in deaths from lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases since 2000, but progress has stalled in recent years.
Some experts have argued that the high price of cigarettes has pushed consumers to look for cheaper alternatives, fuelling an illicit market that now accounts for half of the cigarettes consumed in Australia. They have called for a pause or reduction in taxes to help bring the illicit trade in cigarettes under control.
Responding to this suggestion, Professors Prabhat Jha and Sarah Lewington from the Nuffield Department of Population Health and Professor Emily Banks, from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at Australian National University point out that high duties on cigarettes have been the single most effective intervention for reducing smoking rates, even where lower-priced illicit cigarettes are available.
Read the full story on the Nuffield Department of Population Health website.