In Samoa, around 25,000 people (25.6 percent of adults aged 15 to 64) use tobacco products, leading to an estimated 226 deaths every year. 56 percent of those deaths occur among those under 70. More than 20 percent of lives lost from tobacco use are due to exposure to secondhand smoke. In total, tobacco use cost Samoa’s economy WST 47 million in 2017, or about 2.3 percent of GDP.

The investment case findings demonstrate that enacting and enforcing five WHO FCTC interventions would, over the next 15 years save 952 lives and reduce the incidence of disease, avert WST 150.2 million in economic losses, and lead to WST 5.6 million in savings through avoidance of tobacco-attributable healthcare expenditures. The economic benefits (WST 150.2 million) significantly outweigh the costs of implementing the 5 WHO FCTC measures (WST 14.9 million). Expanding and enforcing bans on tobacco advertising promotion, and sponsorship would generate the highest ROI (28:1).

This tobacco control investment case was developed jointly by UNDP, the WHO FCTC Secretariat, WHO and the Ministry of Health as part of the FCTC 2030 project.