Tobacco use is a threat to the global economic growth.

While opening the Tobacco Control Workshop yesterday in Nadi, Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete says this follows the global data which indicates an alarming majority of deaths happening in the economically productive age bracket of 30 – 69 years in developing countries.

Dr Waqainabete says according to the World Health Organisation, tobacco is now a deadly threat which costs the global economy more than US$1.4 trillion annually.

He adds this does not include the tobacco illicit market.

“The World Customs Organization estimates an average of 1 in every 10 cigarettes and tobacco products consumed globally is illicit. The illicit market is supported by various players ranging from individual street peddlers to organized criminal networks involved in other illicit trafficking. Tax avoidance and tax evasion undermine the effectiveness of tobacco control policies.”

Dr Waqainabete says the WHO’s Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products was developed and adopted in 2012 to counter the growing international illicit trade in tobacco products.