Tobacco is reported to be the second major cause of death in the world and there is ever-increasing interest in the costs of smoking, especially in the light of evidence of the health effects of second-hand smoke. This book brings together the findings of economists on the effectiveness of price and non-price policy initiatives to combat smoking and draws conclusions regarding the efficacy of the various policy measures. The authors evaluate the relative effectiveness of price-based smoking control policies (i.e. tax) in relation to non-price strategies (including advertising restrictions, sales restrictions, territorial restrictions and health warnings). They review evidence not only from the US but also from around the world, drawing important conclusions for developing countries where smoking is on the rise. The book will be essential reading for policy makers, health practitioners and researchers in health economics.

World Health Statistics 2009 contains WHO's annual compilation of data from its 193 member states, and includes a summary of progress towards the health-related millennium development goals and targets. This edition also contains a new section on reported cases of selected infectious diseases. It provides a comprehensive summary of the current status of national health and health systems including; mortality and burden of disease, causes of death, reported infectious diseases, health service coverage, risk factors, health systems resources, health expenditures, inequities and demographic and socioeconomic statistics. The section on inequities presents statistics on the distribution of selected health outcomes and interventions within countries, disaggregated by sex, age, urban and rural settings, wealth, and educational level. WHO presents World Health Statistics 2009 as an integral part of its ongoing effort to inform better measures of population health and national health systems.

Epidemiology of Chronic Disease: Global Perspectives is the most current and authoritative resource on the epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, risk factors and preventive factors of over 50 major chronic diseases and conditions. This comprehensive text provides readers with an excellent basis for examining current hypotheses regarding chronic disease epidemiology.

Public Health

What drives the drug trade, and how has it come to be what it is today? A global history of the acquisition of progressively more potent means of altering ordinary waking consciousness, this book is the first to provide the big picture of the discovery, interchange, and exploitation of the planet's psychoactive resources, from tea and kola to opiates and amphetamines.