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Tobacco
Myths Dispelled
Source:
Tobacco Control in Developing Countries*
MYTH:
Most smokers do not die from smoking. Those who do die in old age,
when they are at the end of their lifespan anyway.
TRUTH: Half of all long-term smokers will eventually be killed by
tobacco, and of these, half will die during productive middle age,
losing 20 to 25 years of life.
MYTH: Smoking is a matter of consumers' freedom of choice.
TRUTH: It is not, for several reasons. First, many smokers are unaware
of their risks, or simply underestimate or minimize the personal relevance
of those risks. Second, most smokers start when they are children
or adolescents, when they are unable to make an informed choice; and
by the time they try to quit, many are addicted. Third, smoking imposes
certain costs on non-smokers. For these reasons, the choice to smoke
differs from the choice to buy other consumer goods.
MYTH: Tobacco is only an issue for affluent people and affluent countries.
TRUTH: Smoking is declining among males in most high-income countries.
In contrast, it is increasing among males in most low- and middle-income
countries and among women worldwide. Tobacco consumption and tobacco-related
disease burdens are usually greatest among the poor.
MYTH:
Smokers always bear the costs of their consumption choices.
TRUTH: Smokers impose certain costs on non-smokers. Evident costs
include health damage, nuisance and irritation from exposure to environmental
tobacco smoke. Recent reviews in high-income nations conclude that,
despite their shorter lifespans, smokers' lifetime health care costs
do exceed those of non-smokers. If health care is paid for by the
public sector, smokers will impose their costs on others.
MYTH: Smuggling will negate the effects of increased tobacco taxes.
TRUTH: Even in the presence of smuggling, the evidence from a number
of countries shows that tax increases still increase revenues and
reduce cigarette consumption. Furthermore, governments can adopt effective
policies to control smuggling.
MYTH: Tobacco addiction is so strong that simply raising taxes will
not reduce demand.
TRUTH: Increased taxes reduce the number of smokers and the number
of smoking-related deaths. They also reduce the number of ex-smokers
who start again and reduce smoking among those who continue to smoke.
Children and adolescents are more responsive to changes in the price
of consumer goods and are more likely to reduce their consumption
if the tax were to increase.
MYTH: Cigarette tax rates are already high in most high-income countries.
TRUTH: In most high-income countries, taxes account for two-thirds
or more of the retail price of a pack of cigarettes. In contrast,
in lower-income countries, taxes generally account for less than half
the retail price of a pack of cigarettes. This means there is still
ample room to increase cigarette tax levels in many lower-income countries.
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MYTH:
Tobacco control will result in permanent job losses.
TRUTH: Successful tobacco control policies will lead only to a slow
decline in global tobacco use, which is projected to stay high for
the next several decades. The resulting need for downsizing will be
far less dramatic than many other industries have had to face. Money
not spent on tobacco will be spent on other goods, generating alternative
employment. Studies show most countries would see no net losses and
a few would see net gains if consumption fell.
MYTH:
Tobacco controls will simply compound the poverty of rural economies
that are heavily dependent on tobacco farming.
TRUTH: The market for tobacco is likely to remain substantial for
at least the next several decades and, while any future gradual decline
in consumption will clearly cut the number of tobacco-farming jobs,
these jobs will be lost over decades or more, not overnight. The adoption
of sound agricultural and trade policies can help farmers in poor
countries compete fairly for the world market. However, crop substitution
may be needed in the long term to help meet the transition costs of
the poorest farmers.
MYTH:
Governments will lose revenues if they increase cigarette taxes, because
people will buy fewer cigarettes.
TRUTH: Even substantial cigarette tax increases will reduce consumption
while increasing tax revenues. The proportionate reduction in demand
does not match the proportionate size of the tax increase, since addicted
consumers respond relatively slowly to increases in price.
MYTH:
Governments should not raise cigarette taxes because such increases
will have a disproportionate impact on poor consumers.
TRUTH: Poor consumers are usually more responsive to price increases
than rich consumers, so it is likely that their consumption of cigarettes
will fall more sharply, and their relative financial burden will be
correspondingly reduced. However, it is true that poor smokers who
continue to smoke will be disproportionately worse off.
MYTH: In response to higher cigarette prices, smokers will switch
to cheaper brands and there will be no reduction in overall tobacco
consumption.
TRUTH: Even in the presence of tobacco substitutes, price increases
will discourage non-smokers from taking up smoking, and induce smokers
to quit or reduce consumption. Not all smokers will substitute expensive
brands for a cheaper brand.
MYTH: Measures to reduce the tobacco supply are effective ways to
reduce consumption.
TRUTH: Measures to reduce the tobacco supply are not effective. If
one supplier is forced to shut down, provided demand for tobacco continues,
another supplier will enter the market. Crop substitution is often
proposed as a method of reducing supply, but the incentives to grow
tobacco are much greater than for other crops. The only supply-side
measure which should be adopted is control of smuggling. |
| *Building
on the comparative advantages of WHO and the World Bank in epidemiology
and health economics, an international team of 40 professionals from
13 countries, under the guidance of Dr. Prabhat Jha and Dr. Frank
Chaloupka, prepared this 512-page book over a period of 3 years. It
is available from the Oxford University Press in English only. For
inquiries or to order, email: book.orders@oup.co.uk. |
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