Smoking rates drop after tobacco treaty

Reuters
March 22, 2017
A global tobacco treaty put in place in 2005 has helped reduce smoking rates by 2.5 per cent worldwide in 10 years, but it could be more, researchers say.
In a study published in the Lancet Public Health journal, researchers from Canada’s University of Waterloo and the World Health Organisation found while progress against the “global tobacco epidemic” has been substantial, it has still fallen short of the pace called for by the treaty.
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which came into effect in 2005, obliges the 180 countries signed up to have high tobacco taxes, smoke-free public spaces, warning labels, comprehensive advertising bans and support for stop-smoking services.
The WHO says tobacco kills about six million people a year globally and imposes a huge burden on the world economy.
Annual healthcare and lost productivity costs for those made ill from smoking are estimated at around $US1 ($A1.3) trillion.
The study analysed WHO data from 126 countries – 116 of which are signatories to the FCTC – and tracked and compared the implementation of the five key measures from 2007 to 2014 to look at links between strong policies and smoking rates.
It found that, on average, smoking rates dropped to 22.2 per cent in 2015 from 24.7 a decade earlier.
But trends varied, with rates falling in 90 countries, rising in 24 and remaining steady in 12.
Countries that fully implemented more FCTC measures saw significantly greater reductions in smoking rates, the study found.
Overall, each additional measure was linked with a drop in smoking rates of 1.57 percentage points – corresponding to 7.1 per cent fewer smokers in 2015 compared with in 2005.