Study: Smoking Control Could Save Billions Of Dollars, Millions Of Lives Annually

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A study was published on Tuesday by the World Health Organization in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute of the United States of America regarding the impact of smoking. It shed light on the impact that smoking has on the global economy and also on the number of lives we lose each year due to tobacco use.

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According to the study, the world spends nearly $1 trillion annually on smoking through healthcare costs and a lost of productivity. It also concluded that around 6 million people die on yearly basis as a result of smoking.

The study also found that 80 percent of the health and economic burdens of smoking take place in low and middle income nations. It cited taxes, price increases and bans on tobacco marketing as effective tools to curb the impact of smoking. According to the World Health Organization, tobacco taxes generated roughly $269 billion worldwide in government revenues, but less than $1 billion went back into tobacco control.

Job impact is also addressed in the study. It attempts to refute the notion that tobacco control would hurt economies by reducing jobs. According to the study, the number of jobs in the tobacco industry have been falling across the world due primarily to technological improvements.

The greatest benefit that the study highlights is the lightening of the burden that smoking puts on health and healthcare, especially for the poor.