According to a group of leading economists, poorer countries can save lives by adopting or raising tobacco taxes. The authors suggested increase in investments in global health to battle with killer diseases. They cited China as good example for the same, saying 50% tax could prevent 20 million deaths and generate $20 billion over the next 50 years.

The details about the call have been published in The Lancet. Professor Lawrence Summers of Harvard University chaired the Lancet's Commission on investing in health.

Prof. Summers, former chief economist at the World Bank, said, "These countries are all very different. They vary in their social and economic structures. There's no single way forward but these countries show what can be achieved".

He said tobacco taxation can play a vital role in preventing lives and raise money for investments in health sector.

Also, the Commission emphasized the need of spending more on research, vaccine development and other health technologies.

Prof. Summers said they hope this report will prove helpful for the post-Millennium Development Goals challenge.

It would take just 20 years time to wipe out the health gap between rich and poor countries through greater investment in existing drugs, vaccines and treatment.