[Problem profile] “Smoking in the developing world” by Robert Wiblin

Smoking takes an enormous toll on human health - accounting for about 6% of all ill-health globally according to the best estimates. This is more than HIV and malaria combined. Despite this, smoking is on the rise in many developing countries as people become richer and can afford to buy cigarettes. There appears to be a range of policies which have been shown to reduce smoking rates, which are usually not applied in developing countries. The most natural ways to tackle the problem through your career include becoming a health policy expert, or advocacy through journalism, think tanks and politics. This is a particularly promising cause for people living in a developing country with high smoking rates.

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(00:09) Summary

(00:54) Our overall view

(01:53) What is the problem?

(02:38) Why is this problem pressing?

(02:42) What is our recommendation based on?

(03:31) Why is it pressing?

(05:17) What are the major arguments against it being pressing?

(06:26) Key judgement calls made to prioritise this problem

(06:53) What can you do about this problem?

(06:57) What's most needed to contribute to this problem?

(08:13) What skill sets and resources are most needed?

(08:36) Who is working on this problem?

(09:54) What can you concretely do to help?

(11:48) Further reading

The original text contained 13 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:
April 6th, 2016

Source:
https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/tobacco

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.