Governments need to put more effort in implementing one of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’s proven measures to reduce demand and deaths from tobacco use — levying high taxes on tobacco products.
Only 33 countries have so far raised taxes on a pack of cigarettes to the suggested more than 75 percent of retail price, according to a new WHO report launched this week.
This means only 10 percent of the world’s population is benefiting from this anti-tobacco strategy, which aims to lower the number of individuals at risk of tobacco-related diseases, such as lung cancer and heart ailments.
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About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
