Lizzie Parry
2 Jan 2015
Tripling tax on cigarettes across the world would prevent 200 million premature deaths from lung cancer, experts claim.
The drastic increase in tax would cut the number of smokers by a third as prices double.
The increase would also narrow the price gap between the cheapest and most expensive cigarettes, encouraging people to quit rather than switch to a cheaper brand, a new study has found.
At the United Nations General Assembly and the World Health Organisation’s 2013 Assembly, countries across the world agreed to cut smoking rates by a third, by 2025.
The aim is to reduce the number of premature deaths from cancer and other diseases related to smoking, by a quarter.
Cancer Research UK said 42,000 people were diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK in 2010, and less than 10 per cent survive the disease, for at least five years after diagnosis.
In 2010, 34,900 people died from the disease.
Previous research has shown those people who start smoking when they are young continue to do so throughout adulthood, and have two to three times the mortality rate of non-smokers.
An average of 10 years of life is lost from smoking, with many of those dying still in middle age – meaning on average they lose around 20 years from their life expectancy.
However, the new study has found quitting smoking at a young age could help people regain almost all of the decade they may have otherwise lost.
Professor Sir Richard Peto from University of Oxford said: ‘Worldwide, around a half-billion children and adults under the age of 35 are already – or soon will be – smokers and on current patterns few will quit.
‘So there’s an urgent need for governments to find ways to stop people starting and to help smokers give up.
‘This study demonstrates that tobacco taxes are a hugely powerful lever and potentially a triple win – reducing the numbers of people who smoke and who die from their addiction, reducing premature deaths from smoking and yet, at the same time, increasing government income.
‘All governments can take action by regularly raising tobacco taxes above inflation, and using occasional steep tax hikes starting with their next budget.
‘Young adult smokers will lose about a decade of life if they continue to smoke – they’ve so much to gain by stopping.’
The researchers said controlling tobacco marketing is also important in helping people quit their habits, with the government considering following Australia and switching to plain packaging.
Dr Prabhat Jha, director of the Centre for Global Health Research of St. Michael’s Hospital and a professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, said: ‘Death and taxes are inevitable, but they don’t need to be in that order.
‘A higher tax on tobacco is the single most effective intervention to lower smoking rates and to deter future smokers.’
Dr Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: ‘Worldwide, around half a billion children and adults under the age of 35 are already – or soon will be – smokers, and many will be hooked on tobacco for life.
‘So there’s an urgent need for governments to find ways to stop people starting and to help smokers give up.
‘This immensely important study demonstrates that tobacco taxes are a hugely powerful lever, and potentially a triple win – reducing the numbers of people who smoke and who die from their addiction, reducing the health care burden and costs associated with smoking and yet, at the same time, increasing government income.
‘We urge all governments, not least the UK government, to take action by regularly raising tobacco taxes above inflation, and using occasional steep tax hikes starting with the next budget.
‘Young adult smokers will lose about a decade of life if they continue to smoke – they’ve so much to gain by stopping.’
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of health charity ASH said: ‘Raising the price of tobacco through taxation is the single most effective way of reducing smoking as high prices encourage smokers to cut down and quit, and discourage young people from starting.
‘This important study should be a wake-up call to all governments since raising tobacco taxes increases revenue while also saving lives.
‘While low income countries stand to benefit most from a dramatic increase in tobacco taxes, high income countries such as the UK can also benefit from increasing taxes as part of a range of measures to further drive down smoking rates.’
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.