Turning Cutting-Edge Tobacco Research into Sound Health Policy

By gathering substantial research on the benefits of increasing the tax on tobacco in China and disseminating these findings to policymakers, there was an increased willingness to use taxation as a tool for tobacco control. Extensive research and simulations demonstrated that an increase of 1 RMB (.15 USD) in excise taxes on cigarettes would save 3 million lives and raise RMB 64.9 billion (9.5 billion USD) in additional revenue for the government. CITC’s recommendation was adopted by the WHO, the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Bank. China subsequently raised its tobacco tax in 2009 and 2015, which will create long term health benefits for both smokers and their communities impacted by second-hand smoke.