| The
book will be launched on August 8, 2000 at the 11th World Conference on
Tobacco or Health in Chicago, USA.
|
If
you are interested in bringing this important book to the attention of
researchers and policy-makers in your country, please contact us at nguyens@who.ch
to
co-ordinate a press release.
Summary:
Tobacco was responsible for
about 100 million deaths in the 20th century. On current smoking patterns,
it is expected to account for 1 billion deaths - a tenfold increase -
in the 21st century. While the health impact of tobacco is little disputed,
there is widespread debate on the economic arguments for and against tobacco
control .
This book brings together a
set of critical reviews of the current status of knowledge on the economics
of tobacco control. It is intended to provide a sound and comprehensive
evidence-base for the design of effective tobacco control policies in
any country, with an emphasis on the needs of the low-income and middle-income
countries where most smokers live. Each of the book's nineteen chapters
has been through a thorough peer review process.
This book is written for academic
economists, epidemiologists, those working in tobacco control programmes,
health planners, and officials in Ministries of Finance, Commerce, Trade
and Health in low- and middle-income countries and in development agencies.
Some
reviews:
| "This
book clearly demonstrates the power of taxation to influence behaviour.
As smoking is already a major killer in Eastern Europe as well as
many parts of the world, policy makers - especially finance ministers
- should consider using the price instrument to effectively curb smoking."
|
| Honourable
Leslaz Balcerovicz, Former Deputy Premier Minister and Minister of
Finance, the Republic of Poland. |
| "The importance
of this volume can hardly be overstated at this juncture when all
evidence points to a rising trend in tobacco consumption in developing
countries where it has already become a major health hazard. This
book should serve as an invaluable source of knowledge for policy
makers in developing countries as they grapple with the problem of
controlling tobacco consumption." |
| Isher
Judge Ahluwalia, Director and Chief Executive, Indian Council for
Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India |
| "With
this comprehensive examination of the economics of tobacco production,
use, and control, Jha and Chaloupka have assembled a definitive set
of economic arguments for prevention and control that we lacked even
a couple of years ago. Their analysis is changing debate around the
world on the economics of both desirability of and means for control
of tobacco use." |
| Dean
T. Jamison, Professor of Public Health and Education, University of
California, Los Angeles, USA and Lead Author of "World Development
Report 1993: Investing in Health" |
|
"Few
challenges to global health are as a great as tobacco, one of the
major causes of premature mortality of the 21st century. I hope
that this comprehensive analysis can help to reduce the risk of
cancer and many other diseases throughout the world."
|
| Harold
E. Varmus, President and Chief Executive Officer of Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center, New York, USA and co- recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize
for Physiology or Medicine. |
|
