Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
03/07/2013
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
Study published in the Bulletin of the WHO considers tax increase on cigarettes the most effective measure
Cigarettes are directly responsible for the death of six million people every year, informs WHO Ana White / O Globo
GENEVA - Increased taxes to endear the final price of cigarettes is the most effective strategy for reducing the number of premature deaths due to smoking, concludes a study released Monday by the Bulletin of the World Health Organization The authors work estimate that 7.5 million deaths were averted because of cigarettes among the 41 countries that have smoke-free policies analyzed. Almost half - 3.5 million - of lives saved will occur only because of the taxation equivalent to 75% of the smoke.
We studied six governmental antismoking policies that are part of the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control of the organization: bans on advertising and sponsorship banked by the tobacco industry, raising taxes on the product; public information about the dangers of smoking; prevention policies and protection of environments to smoke and helps to kick the habit.
Brazil ratified the Convention in 2005. The country was cited in the study as part of the group of countries that have adopted measures against smoking, but not part of the survey published on Monday. Brazil already has laws against smoking indoors, restrictions on advertising and warnings printed on the back of cigarette packs. A surcharge of the product is also in force. Since last year, the federal government established that no packet of cigarettes can be sold for less than R $ 3 in the country, an increase of U.S. $ 0.50 per year to arrive at the value of R $ 4.50 in 2015. According to the National Observatory of the Tobacco Control Policy, taxation of cigarettes in Brazil reaches 81% of the final price.
- Tobacco use is leading cause of death worldwide among those that can be prevented, with 6 million deaths each year because of smoking. This number is estimated to reach 8 million a year by 2030 if the current trend persists - calculates Douglas Bettcher, director of the Department of Non-Communicable Diseases WHO, in a statement released by the multilateral organization. - If you apply the right measures, the tobacco epidemic can be prevented entirely.
Vera da Costa e Silva, coordinator of the Center for the Study of Tobacco and Health, National School of Public Health, Fiocruz, says that about Brazil, earlier studies also conclude that the increase in cigarette taxes is also the measure smokefree more effective. It considers, however, that there is still room to grow the burden of taxes on cigarettes in the country:
- The cigarette here is still very cheap because production is local and inexpensive. There are countries where the minimum price the packet reaches $ 10. The taxation policy proves to be effective especially for the people of lower income and younger.
Of the 41 countries studied - which together have about 1 billion people - 33 put into practice at least one of the six measures listed by the WHO Bulletin. After taxes, laws establishing smoke-free environments are second, with about 2.5 million deaths in three years. Then are listed as public information about the harms of smoking (700 000), access to addiction treatment (380 000) and bans on advertising (minus 306,000 deaths).
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Source: The Globe - Online
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.