Raise tobacco taxes regularly to reduce deaths from smoking, urge researchers

Researchers are urging governments around the world to raise taxes on tobacco above inflation and also to impose one-off steep tax increases at every opportunity.

They estimate that tripling tobacco excise tax globally would cut the prevalence of smoking by a third and prevent millions of premature deaths. Big tax increases would narrow the price gap between the most and least expensive cigarettes, which would encourage people to quit smoking rather than switch to a cheaper brand and would help stop young …