More than 200 Samoans die each year from tobacco related illnesses costing the government $ST47 million.
This is according to a report from a joint mission to Samoa last year as part of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Project.
The project helps nations strengthen their WHO FCTC implementation in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The Samoa Observer said a 46-page report of findings and recommendations from that mission was presented to government this week.
“The health burden is becoming more and more the norm, but the economic burden of tobacco still remains somewhat misunderstood,” said team leader
Andrew Black.
He told the newspaper his team wanted to provide more information to Samoa’s government in order to support policy making for tobacco into the future.
“So this is one of the key findings of the investment case, that tobacco is costing $47 million every year, which is equivalent to 2.3 per cent of its gross domestic product in 2017,” he said.
He added that it’s also a significant cause of environmental problems and a major barrier of economic development as well making tobacco a major barrier to sustainable development.
The report says Samoa can avoid economic losses by implementing the mission’s recommendations.
These include increasing cigarette taxation to reduce affordability; that government move to expand and enforce bans on smoking in public places; implement plain packaging; promote and strengthen public awareness of harm caused by tobacco use; and expand and enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
