International Tobacco Control Research
The International Tobacco Control Research (ITCR) program conducts original research in international tobacco control with particular emphasis on the economics of tobacco control. There has been a recent shift in focus from the traditional role of compiling and interpreting surveillance data to a greater focus on primary collection and analysis of economic data. This work is done in collaboration with national and international investigators and serves to build capacity for collection and analysis of economic data to provide the evidence base for tobacco control in low- and middle-income countries. Externally funded projects have been conducted in Russia and the Ukraine (Bloomberg Global Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use) and Southeast Asia (NIH Fogarty International Center grant to conduct research and capacity building related to the political economy of tobacco control). Service publications include important and visible products like the Tobacco Control Country Profiles (two editions) and The Tobacco Atlas.
Managing Director: Hana Ross, PhD; hana.ross@cancer.org
Our Staff
Highlights and Collaboration
2010
Dr. Hana Ross and Evan Blecher are co-authors of the upcoming IARC Handbook “Effectiveness of tax and price policies in tobacco control” a joint effort between IARC and the European Commission.
In collaboration with the University of Cape Town and the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use Evan Blecher published a global cigarette affordability report. This work was extended into two articles published in Tobacco Control. The WHO Taxation Manual and the 2009 WHO MPOWER Strategy also refer to these research findings and policy recommendations. The WHO Article 6 Technical Report prepared for the FCTC Conference of the Parties also argues in favor of affordability as a policy tool and quotes the Tobacco Control articles.
Dr. Rijo John and Hana Ross are co-authors of the economic cost of cancer study, which was a collaborative project with the Global Health Department and received financial support from the LIVESTRONG Foundation. The study found the global cost of cancer amounted to $895 billion in 2008 in terms of lost labor productivity. If the medical costs and other related costs were included, the global economic toll of cancer could be potentially twice as large. The report garnered strong media attention, including the Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, and Fox News. The study is under review in a peer reviewed journal.
The International Tobacco Control Research Program is working closely with the Global Health Department to support its efforts in global tobacco control, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
2009
Research reports on Economics of Tobacco Taxation in Russia and Economics of Tobacco Taxation in Ukraine were released in Russia and Ukraine in April 2009. These comprehensive reports documented the potential impact of higher tobacco taxes on preventing deaths and increasing government revenues. In Ukraine, the report was instrumental in achieving an unprecedented 86% tobacco tax increase in May 2009. Dr. Ross, the lead author on both studies, was invited to present the results at the International Health Economic Association 7th World Congress, Beijing, China, July 11 – 16, 2009.
The 3rd edition of the Tobacco Atlas, prepared in collaboration with the ACS International Affairs Department, Georgia State University, and the World Lung Foundation was released in March 2009 at the 14th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health in Mumbai, India.
ITCR researchers collaborated with the International Affairs Department and the Lance Armstrong LIVESTRONG Foundation to produce a preliminary report on the global cost of cancer and represented the ACS at the press conference in Dublin where the report was released. A further study estimating global productivity losses due to cancer is now underway.
ITCR researchers also collaborated with the Framework Convention Alliance, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Nottingham in the UK, on a report estimating the scope of global illicit trade. The report documented that smuggling was more common and produced the greatest disease burden in developing countries. The report was distributed at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Geneva in July 2009 and was featured in the Guardian newspaper.
Dr. Ross collaborated with Duke University and the South East Asia Tobacco Control Alliance on a multi-year project to increase research capacity in Southeast Asia and explore the interrelationships between political processes and economic variables that influence tobacco control policies. The project, supported by an NIH R01 grant, focuses primarily on seven countries in that region: Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Publications
Chaloupka F, Leon, M, Straif K. (Collaborators: N Nargis, L Joossens, L Nguyen, L Clancy, L Currie, S Gallus, C La Vecchia, F Godfrey, C Van Walbeek, E Fernandez, S Delipalla, AM Perucic, Z Onder, A Gilmore, E Blecher, TW Hu, D Levy, H Ross, J Tauras, van Driessche F, R Iglesias, M Pekurinen, A Yurekli, K Smith. Effectiveness of tax and price policies in tobacco control. Tobacco Control. May;20(3):235-8. 2011. Epub 2010 Nov 29.
John RM, Sung HY, Max W, Ross H. Counting 15 million more poor in India, thanks to tobacco. Tobacco Control. Epub Feb 3 2011.
Kostova D, Ross H, Blecher E, Markowitz S. Is youth smoking responsive to cigarette prices? Evidence from low- and middle-income countries. Tobacco Control. Epub July 7, 2011.
Ross H, Blecher E, Yan L, Hyland A. Do cigarette prices motivate smokers to quit? New evidence from the ITC survey. Addiction. Mar;106(3):609-19. 2011. Epub 2010 Nov 9.
Ross H, Blecher E, Yan L, Cummings KM. Predictors of what smokers say they will do in response to future price increases. Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Study. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Jun;13(6):419-25. 2011. Epub 2011 March 8.
Ross H, Stoklosa M. Development assistance for global tobacco control. Tobacco Control Epub 2011 June 15.
Ross H, Stoklosa M, Krasovsky K. Economic and public health impact of 2007–2010 tobacco tax increases in Ukraine. Tobacco Control Epub 2011 June 17.
Blecher E. Commentary on Joossens: Eliminating the global illicit cigarette trade: what do we really know? Addiction. Sep;105(9):1650-1. 2010.
Blecher E. Targeting the affordability of cigarettes: a new benchmark for taxation policy in low- and middle-income countries. Tobacco Control. Aug;19(4):325-30. 2010. Epub June 7, 2010.
Glynn T, Seffrin JR, Brawly OW, Grey N, Ross H. The globalization of tobacco use: 21 challenges for the 21st century. CA Cancer J Clin. Jan-Feb;60(1):50-61. 2010.
John RM, Rao RK, Rao MG, Moore J, Deshpande RS, Sengupta J, Selvaraj S, Chaloupka FJ, Jha P. The economics of tobacco and tobacco taxation in Paris: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. 2010.
John RM, Ross H. The Global Economic Loss from Cancer. Paper presented at the UICC World Cancer Congress 18-21 August, 2010, Shenzhen, China. 2010.
Joossens L, Merriman D, Ross H, Raw M. The impact of eliminating the global illicit cigarette trade on health and revenue. Addiction. Sep;105(9):1640-9. 2010. Epub July 12, 2010.
Kostova D, Ross H, Blecher E, Markowitz S. Prices and cigarette demand: evidence from youth tobacco use in developing countries. NBER Working Paper 15781. 2010.
Blecher EH, van Walbeek CP. Cigarette affordability trends: An update and some methodological comments. Tobacco Control. 2009;18(3):167-75.
Blecher EH, van Walbeek CP. An analysis of cigarette affordability. Paris: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease; 2008.
Joossens L, Merriman D, Ross H, Raw M. How eliminating the global illicit cigarette trade would increase tax revenue and save lives. Paris: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease; 2009.
Levy D, Benjakul S, Ross H, Ritthiphakdee B. The role of tobacco control policies in reducing smoking and deaths in a middle income nation: Results from the Thailand SimSmoke simulation model. Tobacco Control; 2008;17(1):53-59.
Levy D, Ross H, Zaloshnja E. The role of tobacco control policies in reducing smoking and deaths caused by smoking in an eastern European nation: Results from the Albania SimSmoke simulation model. Central European Journal of Public Health. 2008;16(4):189-198.
Peng L, Ross H. The impact of cigarette taxes and advertising on the demand for cigarettes in Ukraine. Central European Journal of Public Health. 2009;17(2):93-98.
Ross H, Zaloshnja E, Levy D, Tole D. Results from the Albanian Adult Tobacco Survey. Central European Journal of Public Health. 2009;16(4):182-188.
Ross H, Shariff S, Gilmore A. Economics of tobacco taxation in Ukraine. Paris: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease; 2008.
Ross H, Shariff S, Gilmore A. Economics of tobacco taxation in Russia. Paris: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. 2008.
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