(May 16th, 2016, Copenhagen, Denmark and New York, USA) – On the first day of the Women Deliver Conference in Copenhagen, global public health experts Vital Strategies today called on governments to implement high taxes on tobacco and other unhealthy products (like sugar-sweetened beverages) in order to deliver a double benefit for the health and wellbeing of women and girls. Such a strategy would both reduce the consumption of products that cause a range of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and deliver a sustainable funding stream to support progress towards the goals – including health and wellbeing and gender equality – set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs).
José Luis Castro, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vital Strategies, said: “News from Women Deliver that a reduction in funding of UN agencies may negatively impact maternal health care provision, reiterates the urgent need for countries to develop sustainable domestic financing mechanisms for development. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda recommended increasing tobacco taxes to sustainably finance policies to deliver the SDGs, including improved health and wellbeing for all and achieving gender equality, that would benefit all women and girls. The recent WHO nine country study on earmarking tobacco taxes provides clear evidence that this is a highly viable strategy.
“Such a strategy would deliver immediate benefits to the individual, too. Increasing taxes to reduce the affordability of tobacco products, for example, would provide a financial disincentive to help counter the tobacco industry’s aggressive targeting of women and girls in low and middle income countries. In short, higher tobacco taxes could have a real impact in protecting the health of women and girls while also funding policies to provide women and girls with better life opportunities – delivering more equal and healthier, wealthier world.”
Drivers of NCDs harm women’s health and life opportunities
A rising tide of non-communicable diseases are whittling away hard-won improvements in women’s health and longevity in every country. Just as the tobacco industry shamelessly targeted women in high-income countries during the twentieth century, it is now seeking to exploit for profit the growing social and economic freedoms of women in low and middle income countries. Increases in the number of women smoking in high income countries has led to increases in the number of women suffering from and dying prematurely from lung cancer, among other diseases. The same time-bomb will strike low and middle income countries.
Similarly, obesity-related disease and premature death are increasing in conjunction with higher consumption of processed foods and beverages containing unhealthy fats, sugars and salt – often marketed as convenient solutions for busy women. Rising levels of alcohol consumption – often marketed as a way to relax after a busy day – are also taking their toll.
This burden of ill health can negatively impact women’s opportunities in two ways. As direct sufferers, their work and family lives can be disrupted or curtailed by ill health. However, the increasing burden of NCDs is forcing a growing number of people to act as carers for relatives with long-term health conditions, and that burden disproportionately falls to women.
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies envisions a world where every person is protected by a strong public health system. Our team combines evidence-based strategies with innovation to help develop sound public health policies, manage programs efficiently, strengthen data systems, conduct research, and design strategic communication campaigns for policy and behavior change. Vital Strategies was formed when The Union North America and World Lung Foundation joined forces. It is an affiliate of The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union).
To find out more, please visit vitalstrategies.org or Twitter @VitalStrat
For further information or to arrange an interview with a Vital Strategies public health expert, please contact Tracey Johnston, Vital Strategies, at +44.7889.081.170 or tjohnston@vitalstrategies.org