Increasing tobacco taxes to reduce demand for tobacco could generate revenue for African governments to finance universal health coverage, health promotion as well as other development programmes, according to the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti.
“Tobacco control can break the cycle of poverty, contribute to ending hunger, promote sustainable agriculture and economic growth, and combat climate change,” Dr. Moeti states in her message issued ahead of ‘World No Tobacco Day’, on May 31, 2017.
Tobacco control is regarded as one of the most effective means to achieve SDG target 3.4 of a one-third reduction of premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by 2030.
Globally, tobacco kills more than 7.2 million people per year, with over 80% from low- or middle-income countries. In Africa, about 146,000 adults aged 30 years and above die every year from tobacco-related diseases.
According to WHO findings, up to half of all tobacco users will die prematurely from tobacco-related causes, and on average, tobacco users lose 15 years of life.
This makes tobacco use one of the leading preventable risk factors for non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic lung diseases and diabetes. It is a threat to any person, regardless of gender, age, race, cultural or educational background.
For the African Region, Moeti said that the cost of healthcare from tobacco smoking is 3.5% of total health expenditure each year.
“It brings suffering, diseases and premature death and impoverishes families. It imposes a heavy economic burden on national economies through increased healthcare costs and decreased productivity,” she explained.
Growing tobacco diverts agricultural land that could otherwise be used for food, impacting on food insecurity and under-nutrition.
Moeti noted that the top five tobacco leaf-producing countries in Africa suffer from undernourishment, and tobacco cultivation co-exists alongside undernourishment rates that range from 20% to 43%.
Tobacco impacts the environment as well, through tobacco smoke, litter, fires and deforestation leading to climate change. Growing and producing tobacco in itself is also dangerous to health. Women bear most of the work on tobacco farms and children of tobacco-growing families are involved in child labour exposing them to green tobacco sickness and health hazards from pesticides, and smoke and tobacco dust inhalation.
Source PANA
