Background – Consequences of smoking in Europe

Although entirely preventable, smoking causes the yearly deaths of 650,000 Europeans and the suffering of 13 million more from serious, chronic diseases. Smoking and its health consequences also make a significant negative contribution to the widening gap in health inequalities across the EU.

Taxation as a public health tool

There is convincing evidence from the World Bank, the World Health Organization and tobacco control experts that price increases are the most cost effective tobacco control measure (amongst others), especially for young people and others on low incomes who are highly responsive to the cost of tobacco. Taxation is thus an appropriate and powerful tool for governments to use, both to reduce smoking prevalence and re-balance health inequalities.

Closing the “knowledge gap”

Effective use of the taxation tool by public health advocates requires thorough understanding of tobacco tax and illicit trade issues (as the latter diminishes the effectiveness of high tobacco taxation policies). However, tobacco tax rules are highly complex and only a few public health advocates understand them sufficiently. TobTaxy intends to close this knowledge gap and provide public health advocates with the expertise and skills to confidently support various on-going policy initiatives on taxation and smuggling at national, European and international level. It will also increase understanding and use of the Healthy Life Year indicator regarding the opportunity cost (benefits forgone) of doing too little to prevent ill-health.