Abstract
BackgroundOne of the major obstacles to the full implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) tobacco control measures is the lack of sustainable financing resources.GoalTo update and simulate country-specific indicators that are highly relevant to the costs and financial resources of the treaty policy implementation. We also developed an Excel tool for simulation and assessed the aggregated-level indicators by the 2016 World Bank income groups.ApproachesUsing mostly 2016 data or 2014–15 data if 2016 one are not available, we updated five indicators relevant to the treaty implementation, which are the gap between current and desirable policy implementation, cigarette affordability, the costs of implementing best- buy tobacco control policies, the number of smoking-attributable deaths, and the simulated tax revenue resulting from a $1 tax increase. We also aggregated indicators and simulation results by the World Bank income groups, encompassing the five indicators and the reduction in smoking and in attributable deaths due to a hypothetical 1I$ tax increase. Finally, the policy implementation cost was compared with tax revenue and revenue increases.FindingsAs of 2016, smoking remains one of the leading causes of premature deaths worldwide while the implementation of best-buy tobacco control policies was below the recommended levels. Meanwhile, there was room to further increase cigarette taxes and prices, as cigarettes remained affordable in many countries. The total costs of implementing best-buy policies in the next 15 years merely account for 8.3% of the 2016 excise tax revenue, indicating that a small proportion of annual tax revenue could fund the implementation of tobacco control policies recommended by the WHO FCTC.ConclusionsIncreasing taxes could have a multiplier impact on curbing tobacco use through aiding the implementation of the WHO FCTC.
Highlights
One of the major obstacles to the full implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) tobacco control measures is the lack of sustainable financing resources
Recognizing that tobacco control is a fundamental investment in human capital, an investment that leads to enormous public health gains, and to long-term economic growth, Parties to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) acknowledged the need for a collective action to overcome obstacles that delay the tobacco control policy implementation.[2, 3]
At the Sixth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP6) in October 2014, the working group on ‘sustainable measures to strengthen implementation of the WHO FCTC’ reported that the lack of funding resources was the major obstacle to implementing tobacco control measures recommended by the WHO FCTC
Summary
One of the major obstacles to the full implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) tobacco control measures is the lack of sustainable financing resources. To update and simulate country-specific indicators that are highly relevant to the costs and financial resources of the treaty policy implementation. We developed an Excel tool for simulation and assessed the aggregated-level indicators by the 2016 World Bank income groups. Using mostly 2016 data or 2014–15 data if 2016 one are not available, we updated five indicators relevant to the treaty implementation, which are the gap between current and desirable policy implementation, cigarette affordability, the costs of implementing best- buy tobacco control policies, the number of smoking-attributable deaths, and the simulated tax revenue resulting from a $1 tax increase. We aggregated indicators and simulation results by the World Bank income groups, encompassing the five indicators and the reduction in smoking and in attributable deaths due to a hypothetical 1I$ tax increase. The policy implementation cost was compared with tax revenue and revenue increases
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