‘Raising cigarette tax can control tobacco use’

The Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA) has said raising the tax on cigarettes can help to control the use of tobacco.

CSEA stated this in a recent survey titled: “Estimating the economic costs of tobacco and cost-effectiveness of tobacco control interventions”.

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It said an increase in cigarette taxes that could drive up the final price of the packet by 50 per cent would assist in the reduction in the number of smokers, as well as ensure better healthcare savings.

At a workshop in Kano, CSEA research associate, Mr Marco Castradori, told participants that a survey was conducted that revealed the recommendation.

The survey also revealed that Nigeria faced an important burden associated with smoking.

Annually, smoke-related issues cause over 28,000 deaths, 6,616 cases of ischemic heart diseases and other cardiovascular incidences, 3,767 cases of stroke and 3,766 new cancer cases.

The study also revealed that the Nigerian healthcare system spent over N526bn annually in direct costs of care of smoking-attributed diseases, adding that the amount could be channelled to other uses with effective tobacco control put in place.