Press release: Tobacco taxes save lives

Increasing tobacco prices through taxation is the single most effective policy to reduce tobacco use and save lives. Tobacco use is the leading cause of death, killing around 6 million people globally and 1.6 million in the WHO European Region alone. It is a major contributor to noncommunicable diseases such as lung cancer and heart disease.

WHO global estimates show that if taxes were increased by 50% per pack, governments would earn an extra 101 billion US dollars in revenue - funds that could go towards combating cancers, cardiovascular diseases and other noncommunicable diseases, reducing the burden on resource-limited health systems.