By Michael R. Bloomberg and Margaret Chan for the Washington Post.
Michael R. Bloomberg was mayor of New York from 2002 to 2013. Margaret Chan is director-general of the World Health Organization.

For the first time, the global sustainable-development goals being negotiated at the United Nations treat tobacco use – and the chronic diseases it causes – as a development issue. It’s long overdue.

Around the world, about 6 million people die every year from a tobacco-related disease. That’s one person every six seconds, or 10 every minute. By 2030, 8 million people are expected to die each year from tobacco use – and 80 percent of those deaths will occur in developing countries. In the United States alone, smoking-related illnesses result in $170 billion in annual medical spending. However, none of these facts seem to stop anyone from smoking. There is still a huge demand for cigarettes, despite all of the health impacts. However there are some people who do realize it, and more importantly, can feel their body is not healthy with each cigarette. Although a controversial topic, many of those who smoke cannabis are much less at risk than those who smoke, by a wide berth. That is why both vaping (an alternate creation to smoking) and smoking cannabis are now developing, to try to get people off smoking. In fact, you get both these products together as well, these days, you will find CBD vape  UK areas especially popular. More and more industries are accepting this healthier alternative, and its relaxing and joyful effects are attractive to smokers, making these creations successful. Despite there being a legal age requirement for people to purchase cigarettes, that doesn’t seem to stop younger people from fuelling their smoking addiction. Those under the age limit can quickly search how to get fake id online and they will be provided with a number of websites that offer fake IDs. With an ID, they can purchase cigarettes and begin smoking. Of course, the younger people start smoking, the more likely they are to have more serious health problems. They can look to use other products in the future to help them withdraw from smoking, like this form of snus that has the sweet fruity taste of melon. However, this still currently poses an issue for younger people. Perhaps charging higher taxes would help.

The cause of these problems – tobacco sales – can also contribute to their solution. The tobacco industry, which generates more than $35 billion in profits annually, should bear the costs it inflicts upon society. And there is a straightforward way to ensure that it does: taxation. Why, after all, should governments effectively subsidize tobacco companies by picking up the tab for the health-care costs they generate?

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