A TEAM of researchers led by the University of Stirling has been awarded £3.4 million to reduce tobacco-related harm in low and middle income countries in Asia and Africa.

The four-year, multi-disciplinary project – funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Research Councils UK Collective Fund – involves six UK universities from the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, eight overseas partners in seven countries and Cancer Research UK.

Almost 80 per cent of the world’s 1 billion smokers live in low and middle income countries and the experts hope to reduce smoking rates in developing regions. They will conduct research to inform tobacco taxation, tackle the illicit trade in tobacco and target tobacco companies’ efforts to undermine governments’ attempts to reduce smoking.

The project will be led by Professor Linda Bauld, director of the university’s Institute for Social Marketing and Cancer Research UK Cancer Prevention Champion.

She said: “As smoking dwindles to a minority activity in the UK, the number of smokers is still increasing elsewhere. Smoking kills more people every year than HIV, tuberculosis and malaria combined. By 2030, it’s predicted that more than 80 per cent of tobacco-related deaths will occur in low and middle income countries (LMICs).

“The tobacco epidemic was created in the developed world, where smoking rates sky-rocketed in previous decades.

“It took us many years to work out how to bring them down, through research, advocacy, communicating health risks, and introducing evidence-based policies.

“This funding will allow us to work with countries that are now at the forefront of efforts to combat the world’s biggest preventable causes of death.”

The initiative is part of one of the most ambitious international research programmes ever created, with £225m invested across 37 interdisciplinary projects.

Experts will work with researchers the South Asian and Sub-Saharan African countries of India, Bangladesh, South Africa, Uganda, Gambia and Ghana to offer training and research support.

They will also partner with local academics to develop and implement approaches to tackling Asian and African nations’ tobacco consumption – and an activity the World Health Organisation says kills more than 7 million people each year.

Alison Cox, from Cancer Research UK, said: “Smoking causes more preventable cancers worldwide than anything else. This award provides a unique opportunity to bring together CRUK’s existing international tobacco control research programme with substantial new investment from RCUK to make a significant contribution to research capacity to prevent cancer sooner in countries where the need is greatest.

“We are particularly pleased to see a strong focus in the programme on research to address the affordability and availability of tobacco in LMICs, as our own studies and those of our global partners have shown that addressing both supply and demand is crucial if we are to see real reductions in smoking rates.”

Universities and Science Minister, Jo Johnson, said: “From healthcare to green energy, the successful projects receiving funding today highlight the strength of the UK’s research base and our leadership in helping developing countries tackle some of the greatest global issues of our time. “At a time when the pace of scientific discovery and innovation is quickening, we are placing science and research at the heart of our Industrial Strategy to build on our strengths and maintain our status as science powerhouse.”