Few people now dispute that smoking is damaging human health on a global scale.1 However, many governments have avoided taking action to control smoking—such as higher taxes—because of concerns that their interventions might have harmful economic consequences, such as permanent job losses.

In 1997 the World Bank, in partnership with the World Health Organization, began a global study on the economics of tobacco control. A team of over 40 economists, epidemiologists, and tobacco control experts critically examined the current state of knowledge about tobacco control. The aim was 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. A synopsis of this work, including interim results, was published in 1999.2 Final results, including 19 chapters and a statistical appendix, are now available.3 This article presents the key findings from this study.