Higher tobacco taxes to save millions of lives in Asia

Increasing cigarette prices via higher taxes imposed on manufacturers will save more than 27 million lives in five Asian countries, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a study released Tuesday. The Manila-based lender said increasing the price of cigarettes by 25 to 100 percent would also cut the number of current and future smokers in China, India, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam by nearly 67 million. ADB noted that a 50-percent increase in cigarettes which corresponds to a tax increase of about 70 to 122 percent will generate 24 billion U.S. dollars in additional revenues annually. "Aggressive tobacco control via higher taxation enhances overall economic welfare," the ADB study read. Apart from increasing government revenues, the study said discouraging smokers through higher prices will also result in higher productivity and reduced health expenditures. In the absence of intervention, the study said smoking will eventually kill about 267 million current and future cigarette smokers who are alive today in the five Asian countries. The ADB noted that two-thirds of the world's tobacco users live in just 15 countries, five of which are in Asia.