Smoking kills 4,300 people in Mongolia annually, report
An estimated 4,300 people die every year in Mongolia as a result of smoking and tobacco-related activities.
The United Nations Development Programme and World Health Organisation report titled, “Investment Case for Tobacco Control in Mongolia” indicated that the numbers represent 17 percent of all deaths in the country.
72 percent of these deaths are premature and occur among persons under 70 years.
Tobacco-attributable economic losses are about 22 times larger than the collected government revenue.
In 2020, tobacco use in Mongolia caused economic loss equivalent to 2.1 percent of Mongolia’s gross domestic product (GDP). These losses occurred in direct health-care expenditures to treat tobacco-related illness, tobacco-attributable mortality valued at MNT 496 billion (146,923,632), and MNT 219 billion (64,871,523 ) in reduced workplace productivity from absenteeism and presenteeism.
According to the World Health Organisation, investing in tobacco control measures will prevent more than 19,200 deaths and avert MNT 2.4 trillion in economic losses by 2037.
Ahead of this year’s World No Tobacco Day happening on May 31, the World Health Organization has called on the governments of member countries to tighten tobacco control and take measures to protect future generations from the deception of tobacco and tobacco manufacturers, according to the National Center for Public Health.
