Each year, 41 million people die from preventable non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.Most of these deaths occur in low-and middle-income countries, and could have been avoided by eliminating tobacco use and alcohol misuse and by improving unhealthy diets.One of the most cost-effective ways of addressing NCDs is through the intelligent use of health taxes.One of the aims of health taxes is to reduce the consumption of unhealthy products; another is to disincentivise unhealthy behaviours that are typically associated with such products.Health taxes achieve both these aims by changing the price faced by consumers so that healthier choices are promoted.Health taxes can also serve as a revenue booster for governments, a fact which is particularly relevant now, as governments are facing the challenges of financing the Sustainable Development Goals.Now more than ever health taxes can play a vital role in achieving the twin goals of improving health outcomes and in raising public-sector revenues.Despite their demonstrated benefits, health taxes remain underutilised globally.To address this problem, WHO (through its health system teams and with the support of its health promotion teams), spearheaded a multiyear programme of knowledge exchange with leading experts in the field of health, tax policy, public financial management, trade law and public governance.The discussions are now chronicled in this book, Health Taxes: Policy and Practice.This book represents the first coherent discussion of health taxes as an independent domain, and authoritatively addresses the expressed concerns