More can be done to cut teenage smoking

A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, submitted a proposal at this year's ongoing session suggesting that a pack of cigarettes should cost at least 10 yuan ($1.4) to deter teenagers from smoking. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Tuesday:

Theoretically it is possible that more teenagers, many of whom are not financially independent and have limited money to spend, would abstain from smoking if cigarettes were priced higher.

According to a World Health Organization report, the number of youngsters who quit smoking increases about 9.3 percent when the price of cigarettes is raised by 10 percent. According to WHO, a tripling of the excise tax on tobacco worldwide could prevent over 115 million premature deaths by getting current smokers to quit.