WHO: Tobacco Taxes Save Lives, Money

GENEVA - The World Health Organization says that raising taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products is the smartest and best way to save lives and save billions of dollars in health expenditures.

An estimated eight million people die prematurely every year from tobacco-related illnesses, such as emphysema and lung cancer. Furthermore, the World Health Organization reports the cost of smoking to the global economy comes to more than $1.4 trillion in health expenditures and lost productivity. The WHO has issued a new manual on tobacco taxes to inform policy makers and others on how to create and implement the strongest tobacco taxation policies for their specific countries.