Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-02
By: CNA
Smoking causes about 20,000 deaths in Taiwan each year, with the annual smoking-
attributable economic costs estimated to account for 1.06% of the nation’s gross domestic product, Health Promotion Administration (HPA) Director Chiou Shu-ti said Sunday.
The total social cost that can be attributed to smoking reaches NT$144 billion (US$4.7 billion) each year, while annual smoking-attributable health-care costs covered by the national health insurance program exceeds NT$50 billion (US$1.6 billion), according to Health Promotion Administration statistics.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners mark World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) May 31 every year, highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.
For World No Tobacco Day 2015, the WHO has called on countries to work together to end illicit trade in tobacco products, while highlighting how the illicit trade is a means of amassing great wealth for criminal groups to finance other organized crime activities, including drugs, human and arms trafficking, as well as terrorism, Chiou said at an event marking WNTD. [FULL STORY]
