Tobacco control as a public health and economic imperative in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Tobacco use is a major contributor to noncommunicable diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, resulting in substantial health care costs and economic losses.

To review investment cases for tobacco control in selected countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region and estimate the economic benefits of implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) measures.

Using scenario modelling, we compared the WHO-UNDP investment cases for Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Tunisia with implementation of the WHO FCTC measures. We estimated the tobacco-related deaths and economic costs and projected the returns on investing in tobacco control over a 15-year period.

Tobacco-related economic losses in the region ranged from US$ 139 million in Lebanon to over US$ 5 billion in Egypt, driven mainly by health care costs and productivity losses. Projected returns on investment in control measures were highest with tax increases (up to 1547:1 in Jordan), followed by smoke-free laws, mass media campaigns and graphic warnings. In countries with available data, lower-income populations had the highest projected health and financial gains.

Implementing the WHO FCTC in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region offers substantial health and economic benefits. Comprehensive, multisectoral actions should be prioritised to reduce tobacco use, particularly among vulnerable populations, in the region.