Blog #1, The Negative Affects of Smoking

Feb. 6th, 2014
Summary:

Smoking has become a global problem for men and women around the world. Approximately 50% of men smoke and 10% of women smoke. At these current rates, the number of deaths cause by tobacco use will rise from 5 million to 10 million in the next few decades.  The World Health Assembly (WHO) has called on governments to reduce the high rates of smoking by at least a third by the year 2025. They say that doing this will avoid more 200 million deaths by the end of the century. Smoking is one of the most common noncommunicable diseases and the WHO wants a 25% decrease in deaths by noncommunicable diseases. One of the best ways to reduce the amount of cigarette use around the world is to increase taxes on them.

Analysis:

Two thirds of all smokers live in China, India, the European Union, Indonesia, the United States, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Smoking has become a global issue and is the number one noncommunicable death.  Tobacco already accounts for about 12 to 25% of deaths among men in low- and middle-income countries such as China, India, Bangladesh, and South Africa. This article emphasizes the rising number of deaths from smoking across the world. It also says that stopping before the age of 40 can help one avoid more than 90% of the excess risk during the decades after 40 years old. This article also states the number one way to stop smoking and stop future smokers is to raise taxes on them. They can raise taxes on cigarettes as a whole, or individual companies can raise the taxes on their products. Raising taxes on all cigarettes is the preferred option because it affects everyone. If only a few select brands are taxed extra, then consumers will buy the cheaper brands. If we do not stop the bad smoking habits around the world, then more and more people will continue to die. Although some may say it is unfair to raise taxes on a product that so many people like or feel they need to have, the affects will be more beneficial than harmful. Despite the millions of people who have died from smoking already, many people do not think it will happen to them. Raising the prices and taxes on cigarettes is the best way to reduce the number of smokers. 

Link: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1308383?query=featured_global-health