Tobacco contributes to millions of deaths around the world each year . Smoking tobacco cigarettes is the leading cause of many lung diseases. According to the WHO, approximately half of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and eight out of ten cases of lung cancer are attributable to current and past smoking. Tobacco also fuels the global tuberculosis epidemic.
On World No Tobacco Day, organizations and associations require renewed efforts to strengthen the implementation of the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization in all countries, to work towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (UN) that guarantee a healthy life and thus promote the well-being of all, regardless of age.
This May 31 public awareness event was initiated by the World Health Organization in 1987. Since then, its goal has been to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and to encourage governments to adopt effective policies to reduce smoking and the use of other tobacco products.
Cigarettes are not only completely unhealthy, but they are also extremely addictive. There are a wide variety of brands on the market, and most of them contain nicotine, which makes cigarettes addictive.
The theme for World No Tobacco Day in 2019 was “tobacco and lung health”. And it is that the WHO focused attention on the essential role of the lungs in the health and well-being of all people, and the harmful effects of tobacco on our lung health.
Let’s not forget that although non-smokers can also develop lung cancer, smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer worldwide, responsible for more than 2/3 of lung cancer deaths.
The slogan for World No Tobacco Day in 2020 is “…”
We know that the health effects of smoking can be devastating. In fact, 70% of smokers want to quit and almost half of them will try to quit this coming year, but only a small group of smokers will succeed in quitting on their first try.
In young children, who are the hardest hit by secondhand smoke and least able to avoid it because their lungs are still developing, they are at higher risk for infections and asthma. When very young children are exposed to secondhand smoke, they are also at risk for sudden infant death syndrome.
WHO recommendations to governments:
– Creation of smoke-free public places, workplaces and public transportation.
– Help for people who choose to quit, such as toll-free smoking cessation lines
– Implementation of simple packaging or prominent and graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging.
– Launch effective anti-tobacco media campaigns that educate the public about the harms of tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure.
– Application of comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
– Increased taxes on tobacco products to make them less affordable.
