World No Tobacco Day 2017: Tobacco – A Threat to Development

As every year, May 31 is World No Tobacco Day.

The theme for 2017 is "Tobacco – A threat to Development".

The tobacco industry poses threats to the sustainable development of all countries, including the health and economic well-being of their citizens. Governments and the public should take measures to promote health and development by confronting the global tobacco crisis. Tobacco use is the second leading cause of death globally (after hypertension) and is currently responsible for killing one in 10 adults worldwide.

Goals of the World No Tobacco Day 2017 #WNTD Campaign

World No Tobacco Day 2017 aims to:

• Highlight the links between the use of tobacco products, tobacco control and sustainable development.
• Encourage countries to include tobacco control in their national responses to 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
• Support Member States and civil society to combat tobacco industry interference in political processes, in turn leading to stronger national tobacco control action.
• Encourage broader public and partner participation in national, regional and global efforts to develop and implement development strategies and plans and achieve goals that prioritize action on tobacco control.
• Demonstrate how individuals can contribute to making a sustainable, tobacco-free world, either by committing to never taking up tobacco products, or by quitting the habit.

It is not only governments who can step up tobacco control efforts: people can contribute on an individual level to making a sustainable, tobacco-free world. People can commit to never take up tobacco products. Those who do use tobacco can quit the habit, or seek help in doing so, which will in turn protect their health as well as people exposed to second-hand smoke, including children, other family members and friends. Money not spent on tobacco can be, in turn, used for other essential uses, including the purchase of healthy food, healthcare and education.

Facts about tobacco, tobacco control and the development goals:

• About 6 million people die from tobacco use every year, a figure that is predicted to grow to more than 8 million a year by 2030 without intensified action. Tobacco use is a threat to any person, regardless of gender, age, race, cultural or educational background. It brings suffering, disease, and death, impoverishing families and national economies.
• Tobacco use costs national economies enormously through increased health-care costs and decreased productivity. It worsens health inequalities and exacerbates poverty, as the poorest people spend less on essentials such as food, education and health care. Some 80% of premature deaths from tobacco occur in low- or middle-income countries, which face increased challenges to achieving their development goals.
• Tobacco growing requires large amounts of pesticides and fertilizers, which can be toxic and pollute water supplies. Each year, tobacco growing uses 4.3 million hectares of land, resulting in global deforestation between 2% and 4%. Tobacco manufacturing also produces over 2 million tonnes of solid waste.
• The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) guides the global fight against the tobacco epidemic. The WHO FCTC is an international treaty with 180 Parties (179 countries and the European Union). Today, more than half the world’s countries, representing nearly 40% of the world’s population (2.8 billion people), have implemented at least one of the WHO FCTC’s most cost-effective measures to the highest level. An increasing number of countries are creating firewalls to ward off interference from the tobacco industry in government tobacco control policy.
• Through increasing cigarette taxes worldwide by US$1, an extra US$190 billion could be raised for development. High tobacco taxes contribute to revenue generation for governments, reduce demand for tobacco, and offer an important revenue stream to finance development activities.

WHO encourages individuals and organizations working at international, national, and community levels, in the public and private sectors and civil society, to engage in activities relating to World No Tobacco Day.

Source: http://www.who.int/campaigns/no-tobacco-day/2017/event/en/