Cigarette tax should be increased to combat nicotine addiction in the world's largest tobacco consumer and producer, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said.
"There is still plenty of room for China to raise its tobacco tax and the government should take more action regarding this to help curb smoking," she told China Daily.
"Evidence shows that higher taxes deter people, especially the young, from smoking,'' she said.
International studies indicate that for every 1 percent rise in the price of a packet of cigarettes,the number of smokers falls by about 0.4 percent, she said.
There is a huge financial cost in treating tobacco-related diseases, Chan said.
China has 350 million smokers, more than one-third of the world's total, and at least 1 million people die from smoking-related diseases each year, according to the ministry. By 2020, thefigure for fatalities is expected to reach 2 million without effective intervention.
Government agencies, like the ministries of health and education, have introduced policies such as smoke-free hospitals and schools, as well as smoking bans at most public indoorplaces. Tobacco products have also been targeted with tax hikes.
In 2009, authorities increased tobacco tax by at least 6 percent, mostly on the more expensive brands.
"But that had little effect on curbing tobacco use, particularly the low-end brands," said YangGonghuan, former director of the tobacco control office under the Chinese Center for DiseaseControl and Prevention.
Tobacco tax, even after the hike, remained very low on a global scale.
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