Health crisis. STOP calls for tobacco industry to be held accountable

In a statement, STOP (Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products), a global tobacco industry watchdog, urges governments and civil society to hold the tobacco industry accountable for the increased health risks to people and the burden their activities have placed on health systems.

As STOP points out, “decades of marketing and selling toxic and addictive products have contributed to the weakening of the health of millions of people around the world. The cost of treating tobacco-related diseases places healthcare systems under enormous strain.”

All the evidence shows that smokers are generally at higher risk of developing lung infections such as pneumonia, influenza or tuberculosis. Smoking also weakens the immune system, and is a leading cause of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and cancer. It has also been shown that smokers are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19, which can lead to death.

The World Health Organization (WHO) shows that the act of smoking itself increases the smoker's risk of contracting the Coronavirus, by increasing contact between hand and mouth.

The tobacco industry's share of responsibility is undeniable. The WHO already showed in 2017 that the health cost of smoking worldwide amounted to 422 billion dollars[1]The COVID-19 crisis, which will have weakened a number of economies and put health systems under strain, will require colossal funding.

In this way, the STOP organization calls for the implementation of the following measures:

• Increasing tobacco taxes. This is indeed the most effective lever for reducing the prevalence of smoking in a population, starting with the youngest and most vulnerable. Today, many countries still offer tobacco products at a particularly affordable price,
• The commitment of administrative, civil and criminal liability of the tobacco industry by the countries Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). As such, cigarette companies must pay 205 billion dollars to the American government.
• The increase in the cost of selling tobacco, including increasing tobacco manufacturing fees, import licenses, product registration, sales licenses, administrative penalties, annual monitoring fees.
• The elimination of preferential treatments, still in force in certain countries (tax breaks, exemptions, etc.)

©Generation Without Tobacco

Source :

Expose Tobacco, “As Costs Pile Up for COVID-19, Tobacco Companies Should Be Held Accountable for Smoking-Related Health Harms,” June 8, 2020

https://exposetobacco.org/news/stop-statement-covid-accountability/

[1] Cancer, “Diseases Linked to Smoking Cost the World $422 Billion in Health-related Expenses”, January 31, 2017

https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/diseases-linked-to-smoking-cost-the-world-422-billion-in-health-related-expenses.html

©National Committee Against Smoking |