Tax hike on tobacco can cut deaths

THE NATIONAL HEALTH COMMISSION said on Monday it supports the use of tax to reduce tobacco consumption, and it will work with the relevant departments to study the possibility of adjusting the tax on tobacco products. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

China raised its tobacco tax in 2015, which was reflected in the higher prices for tobacco products, and statistics show that the tax hike led to a reduction in the overall consumption of tobacco products.

So it is good to hear the commission saying it is in favor of raising the tax again, which has been more effective than any tobacco-control publicity campaign in bringing down China's tobacco consumption that is directly related to a number of serious and chronic diseases that harm both smokers and second-hand smokers.

Cutting the number of deaths and diseases caused by smoking is an important measure to realize a healthy China.

It is noteworthy the commission highlights the urgency of controlling tobacco consumption in three groups of people－civil servants, medical staff and teachers－in its latest Healthy China anti-tobacco campaign that began on Monday. For instance, the commission requires the government to become "zero-tobacco" by 2022.

Accordingly, governments, hospitals and schools will have to implement stricter rules on tobacco control targeting their smoking employees. Which will be conducive to making civil servants, medical staff and teachers no-smoking role models for the whole society.

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of tobacco and tobacco products. The size of the smoking population, about 350 million, has remained largely unchanged in recent years.

The commission should urge the authorities to further raise the tax on tobacco as well as its share in the retail prices of tobacco products, as tax accounts for only 59 percent of the retail price, which is markedly lower than the global average of 75 percent. Which means China's cigarettes are among the cheapest in the world.

Also, photos revealing the damage caused by tobacco on humans' health have not yet appeared on cigarette cases in China, which is an effective and now conventional means to discourage tobacco consumption.

China should leave no stone unturned if it sincerely wants to control tobacco consumption.