For more than half of Italians, a higher tax on tobacco that brings the cost of a pack above 11 euros , as already happens in other European countries, would help reduce cigarette consumption.

This is highlighted by the results of the survey published by the Umberto Veronesi Foundation, in view of World No Tobacco Day on May 31.

In our country, according to the 2024 Smoking Report by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 24% of adults smoke, with an average of 12 cigarettes a day . An addiction that is increasingly widespread among women, while the average age of first contact with nicotine is between 13 and 14 years. And, although the percentage of smokers has decreased since 2008, the decline has slowed down in recent years. Hence the need to give new impetus to anti-smoking policies, such as the introduction of higher taxation. A choice, which is clarified by data from Cergas of Bocconi University, in European countries where a pack costs more, such as Ireland and France, have seen a sharp drop in consumption.

To understand what Italians think, Fondazione Veronesi commissioned AstraRicerche to conduct a survey on a sample of over a thousand Italians. 60% of those interviewed are in favor of a sharp increase in taxes, aiming to at least double the price of the package, bringing it to 11-12 euros or more in a short period of time. Only 20% would be against it.

Furthermore, if the price of cigarettes doubled, almost a third of people say they would quit, while another third would reduce consumption. The majority, moreover, would like to allocate the tax resources thus collected to prevent smoking-related diseases. The Foundation, therefore, together with the Italian Association of Medical Oncology, launches an appeal to the institutions so that Italy adopts more far-sighted tax measures.

"Tobacco is responsible for approximately 85% of deaths from lung, bronchial and tracheal cancer. Faced with these damages, Italy has lagged behind in the international panorama in the fight against smoking", says Giulia Veronesi, director of Thoracic Surgery at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan and member of the Veronesi Foundation's Committee for the Fight against Smoking. "Raising taxes on tobacco - she concludes - means preventing illnesses and deaths and freeing up resources useful for the National Health System".

(Unioneonline/vl)

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