The smoke it causes premature deaths, avoidable diseases and contributes to exacerbating already serious inequalities. 90,000 deaths1 and 26 billion2 of direct and indirect costs each year demand answers. WHO dedicates World No Tobacco Day 2021 to smoking cessation. In Italy the dedicated resources are still inadequate, 4 out of 10 smokers want to quit, but they are alone.
Today the most effective measure to reduce consumption, discourage smoking and mobilize resources is to increase the price of tobacco reshaping taxation.
This is the appeal launched by Umberto Veronesi Foundation. The pandemic has raised the number of smokers in Italy, a similar alarm comes from Switzerland where health authorities have found a sharp increase in smokers, especially among women. In Italy, according to research by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità dating back to last summer, the estimated number of new smokers was 218,000 (2019-2020) and the increase in cigarette consumption was much more marked in females (+ 15.2%), compared to males (+ 3.6%). The increase in the number of users of electronic cigarettes was more evident and estimated at over 400,000 people. Among those who used these devices even before the epidemic, 38.9% increased their use, 18% went from occasional to regular use which, for 13%, became daily. An increase was also observed for users of heated tobacco devices and those who already used them increased their use.
If ‘locdwown stress’ certainly contributed, it should not be forgotten that smoking is also an important risk factor in the face of Covid-19.
Even today in Italy, smoking remains the first avoidable cause of premature deaths and respiratory, cardiovascular and oncological diseases. They are attributed to the use of tobacco about 90,000 victims every year, in a quarter of cases they are women and men under the age of 651. Considering cancer deaths alone, at least 43,000 people a year lose their lives due to oncological diseases attributable to smoking.
The World Health Organization (WHO) dedicates the Tobacco Day 2021 to support for those who want to quit smoking. According to the PASSI 2014-2017 survey, in Italy i35 percent of smokers have tried to quit at least once in the year preceding the survey. The chances of success are still low (10% remained away from smoking for at least six months), with profound inequalities between socio-economic conditions and areas of residence. The opportunity to quit smoking is not yet a guaranteed right for all citizens.
The human cost it is dramatic, the social and economic one is very high: at least 26 billion euros are calculated between direct and indirect costs.
“These are costs that we cannot afford and, above all, that we can avoid or reduce significantly. Smoking, in all its forms, represents a health emergency made even more acute by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, it should not be forgotten and requires immediate and proportionate action to its severity ”- declares the Scientific Committee for the fight against smoking of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation in full agreement.
In this context Umberto Veronesi Foundation, with its Scientific Committee on the fight against smoking
renews the appeal for a significant increase in the price of packets of cigarettes, loose tobacco, heated tobacco devices, through the increase in excise duties and announces a series of initiatives to promote scientific, technical and political confrontation on a crucial but often misunderstood theme. In particular, one will be presented on Friday 21 May Petition to Parliament for the increase in excise duties on cigarettes, loose and heated tobacco. It is a necessary and urgent measure to mitigate the impact of smoking-related diseases, discourage the approach to tobacco-containing products and mobilize the resources necessary to meet the needs of smokers and patients.