TOBACCO CONTROL POLICY ANALYSIS IN CHINA: ECONOMICS AND HEALTH

"Long the plague of the world's affluent nations, the epidemic of tobacco-produced disease has metastasized to developing countries. Nowhere is this more evident than in China, home to 350 million smokers, 1 million of whom die each year as a consequence of their smoking. Sadly, that number will grow substantially in the coming years. It is urgent, therefore, that health professionals and policy makers in China and other developing countries come to fully understand the disastrous outcomes of smoking and the beneficial impacts of selected policies in reducing them. Rigorous analysis of the effects of tobacco control policies has aided wealthy nations in reversing the toll of smoking. Now such analysis must be directed at the problem in the developing world. Tobacco Control Policy Analysis in China: Economics and Health is the first major volume to provide a comprehensive analysis of the issues in a single developing country. A collaborative effort between U.S. and Chinese scholars, the book presents a compelling case for raising taxes on tobacco products, banning tobacco product promotion, and creating smoke-free environments to protect non-smoking Chinese. Policy scholars and professionals in countries throughout the developing world should emulate the model created by this book. The health of the public demands it."Kenneth E WarnerDean, School of Public Health and Avedis Donabedian Distinguished University ProfessorUniversity of MichiganDirector, University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network"A well-timed and outstanding book. China has already taken many strides in tobacco control, and with the ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, it is now poised for further action. The greatest obstacle is the misperceived concern that tobacco control, especially via raising taxes, would harm the economy, leading to unemployment of farmers and other workers, hurting poor smokers, and reducing tax revenue. This book is therefore timely, coherent, reassuring, authoritative, and encouraging, concluding with the expert health economist's view that tobacco control is good for the wealth as well as the health of China."Dr Judith MackayWorld Lung Foundation, Bloomberg Global Initiative to Reduce Tobacco UseAsian Consultancy on Tobacco Control"There is no market more important to the tobacco industry and no nation posing more challenges to tobacco control than China. With 350 million smokers and 1 million tobacco-caused deaths annually, China is the biggest challenge in international tobacco control. Teh-wei Hu is the world's pre-eminent scholar in Chinese tobacco control. This seminal collection of papers is required reading for all who want to contribute to this unparalleled challenge."Simon ChapmanProfessor of Public HealthUniversity of SydneyEditor, Tobacco Control

• Prevalence of Smoking in China (G H Yang); Economic Burden of Smoking in China, 2000 (H Y Sung et al.); Cigarette Taxation in China: Lesson for International Experiences (T W Hu); The Role of Government in Tobacco Leaf Production in China: National and Local Interventions (T W Hu et al.); Effect of Cigarette Tax on Cigarette Consumption in the Chinese Economy (T W Hu & Z Mao); Cigarette Smoking and Poverty in China (Y Liu et al.); Smoking, Standard of Living, and Poverty in China (T W Hu et al.); China at the Crossroads: The Economics of Tobacco and Health (T W Hu et al.); and other papers.