The economic argument is important in Asia as, like elsewhere, the tobacco industry is using economic arguments to dissuade governments from taking tobacco control action.
Economic data on tobacco are still scarce in Asia. Where data are not available, data from elsewhere has been used to make the point.
The core message is that tobacco control is cost-effective, and reduction of tobacco use benefits the economy, the employer, the environment, and the smoker.
Reduced consumption of tobacco would produce savings in social welfare and health care costs, reductions in absenteeism and productivity loss, increased availability of land for food production, reduced fire and smoke damage to machinery and buildings, diminished deforestation, and fewer automobile accidents.1 The World Bank has concluded that tobacco creates a net economic burden for the world as a whole.2
1 P. Jha and F.J. Chaloupka,eds., Tobacco Control in Developing Countries (London: Oxford University Press, 2000).
2 Curbing the Epidemic: Governments and the Economics of Tobacco Control (Washington: World Bank, 1999). |
