Higher tax, healthier kids: study
A World Bank report highlighting the rate of Cambodian children exposed to second-hand cigarette smoke has bolstered calls to increase tobacco taxes threefold.
The World Bank report, which was released on November 20 and titled Risking Your Health, claims nearly 50 per cent of all Cambodians under the age of 15 are “exposed” to second-hand smoke.
Cambodia was listed ninth among countries surveyed with the highest rate of second-hand smoke exposure for the young – on par with China – with 48 per cent reporting to have been exposed to tobacco smoke in their family home. …
The report concludes that developing nations such as Cambodia should adopt “strong enforcement mechanisms” such as additional taxes and stronger legislation to curb the growing rate of “risky behaviours” such as smoking, alcohol consumption, unsafe sex and illicit drug taking – all of which were identified as areas of concern in Southeast Asian countries. …
[Mom] Kong [executive director of NGO Cambodian Movement for Health] and the Cambodian Movement for Health are calling on the government to revise the current tax rates of 20 per cent on locally made cigarettes and 25 per cent on imported cigarettes. …
Eddie Morton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/higher-tax-healthier-kids-study
