A claim that the early deaths of smokers save governments money has been angrily condemned by the anti-smoking lobby in various countries.
The claim was made in a report carried out in the Czech Republic and commissioned by Philip Morris, the world's largest cigarette company, maker of brands such as Marlboro and Benson & Hedges.
Philip Morris controls 80 per cent of the Czech market. The intention was to gather economic data for the debate over how much healthcare for smokers costs the country, a company spokesman, Mr Rimi Calvet, said.
Among its findings the report suggested to the Czech government that it was saving about £100 million a year in healthcare and pension costs because people who smoke die early.
Ms Michelle di Leo, a spokeswoman for the British Lung Foundation, said: "What will Philip Morris argue next, that we should put people down at 50 because it would save us all a lot of money on healthcare?"
In the US, the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Mr Matthew Myers, said: "Would a responsible, reformed tobacco company tell foreign governments that dead smokers are a good thing for their budgets? Philip Morris is doing exactly that."
"There's actually no intention by Philip Morris to enter the debate on tobacco and health," Mr Calvet said.
"Following that logic, the best recommendation to governments would be to kill all people on the day of their retirement," said Ms Eva Kralikova, a Czech public health campaigner.
"Even if it were true that smokers dying young would save money for the economy, it's a real scary logic on which to base policy," said Ms Patti Lynn, associate campaign director for a corporate watchdog group, Infact, which has opposed tobacco companies over their marketing practices.
The bland reaction by many Czechs belies the overall trend locally, where smoking is in decline. Only some 20 per cent of Czechs smoke, down from around 37 per cent in 1994.
Tobacco companies have used similar arguments in the past. In US court cases in the mid-1990s the industry argued against lawsuits where states sought reimbursement for the cost of treating smoking-related illnesses.
Pressure is building on the Czechs to amend their laws to conform to European Union requirements ahead of possible membership in 2004.
Last year the Czech government proposed, but then withdrew, a law which would have tightened existing rules. The current law allows cigarette advertising on the radio at night, advertising in cinemas, newspapers and magazines, and the prominent display of company logos on billboards and streetcars.
Tobacco companies such as Philip Morris have offered to ban radio and billboard advertising, stop sponsorship of events and exclude all print advertising where more than one-third of the readership is under 18.