A cigarette may cost only a few taka at the corner shop, but its real bill can stretch far beyond the smoker’s pocket. It appears in hospital wards, family budgets, workplaces, homes and even the air breathed by people who have never smoked. Worldwide, smoking kills more than eight million people each year. Yet death is only the most visible part of the burden. Tobacco costs the global economy more than US$1.4 trillion annually through healthcare spending and lost work.
