Medical experts have said increasing excise duties on tobacco is the best method for cutting smoking rates significantly worldwide.

They say this is the best way forward in order to reach the World Health Organization global target of cutting the prevalence of smoking by one-third by 2025.

The experts warn that if current smoking rates worldwide continue, around one billion people will die from diseases related to tobacco consumption this century, and most of these will be in poorer countries.

Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the doctors say a major hike rise in tobacco taxes would double the cost of cigarettes on the street in developing countries where prices are low and the numbers of smokers are growing substantially.

They say a high taxation policy has led to major reductions in smoking rates in countries that have adopted this approach, including Canada and France.

The call for major excise duty hikes is made by Dr Prabhat Jha, of the University of Toronto, and Sir Richard Peto, of Oxford University.

They say doubling the cost of cigarettes would encourage many current smokers to quit and prevent others from starting, leading to a major decrease in tobacco-related mortality