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Smoking Could Kill Up to One
Billion People Worldwide
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Smoking could claim the lives of one billion people worldwide this century if
immediate measures are not taken to reverse the epidemic, warns the World
Health Organization (WHO) in a new report.
WHO released new data showing that while progress has been made, not a
single country fully implements all key tobacco control measures, and
outlined an approach that governments can adopt to prevent tens of millions
of premature deaths by the middle of this century.
In the first comprehensive analysis of global tobacco use and control efforts,
WHO found that only 5% of the world’s population live in countries that fully
protect their population with any one of the key measures that reduce
smoking rates.
The report also reveals that governments around the world collect 500 times
more money in tobacco taxes each year than they spend on anti-tobacco
efforts.
It says that tobacco taxes, the single most effective strategy, could be
significantly increased in nearly all countries, providing a source of
sustainable funding to implement and enforce anti-tobacco measures.
“While efforts to combat tobacco are gaining momentum, virtually every
country needs to do more. These six strategies are within the reach of every
country, rich or poor and, when combined as a package, they offer us the best
chance of reversing this growing epidemic,” said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-
General of WHO.
Dr Chan launched the WHO Report of the Global Tobacco Epidemic at a
news conference with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“For the first time, we have both a rigorous approach to stop the tobacco
epidemic and solid data to hold us all accountable," said Mayor Bloomberg.
"No country fully implements all of the MPOWER policies and 80% of
countries don’t fully implement even one policy. While tobacco control
measures are sometimes controversial, they save lives and governments
need to step up and do the right thing.”
The Six MPOWER Strategies:
- Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies
- Protect people from tobacco smoke
- Offer help to quit tobacco use
- Warn about the dangers of tobacco
- Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
- Raise taxes on tobacco
The report also documents the epidemic's shift to the developing world, where
80% of the more than eight million annual tobacco-related deaths projected by
2030 are expected to occur.
This shift, the report says, results from a global tobacco industry strategy to
target young people and adults in the developing world, ensuring that millions
of people become fatally addicted every year. The targeting of young women in
particular is highlighted as one of the “most ominous potential developments of
the epidemic’s growth".
The global analysis, compiled by WHO with information provided by 179
Member States, gives governments and other groups a baseline from which to
monitor efforts to stop the epidemic in the years ahead. The MPOWER package
provides countries with a roadmap to help them meet their commitments to the
widely embraced global tobacco treaty known as the WHO Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control, which came into force in 2005.
WHO is also working with global partners to scale up the help that can be
offered to countries to implement the strategies.
Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director of WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative, said the six
MPOWER strategies would create a powerful response to the tobacco epidemic.
“This package will create an enabling environment to help current tobacco
users quit, protect people from second-hand smoke and prevent young people
from taking up the habit,” he said.
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