World No Tobacco Day (31/05)

In 1987, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared May 31 as World No Tobacco Day, which today is part of the UN system of world and international days.

Every year, WHO and partners celebrate this Day widely to raise awareness of the harmful and fatal consequences of tobacco use and second-hand smoke, drawing attention to the health hazards associated with tobacco use and calling on States to implement effective policies to reduce tobacco use in any form.

The global community was tasked with — ensuring that the tobacco problem disappeared in the 21st century. The 21st century has arrived, but the problem has not disappeared. The fight against nicotine continues. Therefore, the global goal of World No Tobacco Day is to help protect current and future generations not only from the devastating health consequences, but also from the social, environmental and economic scourges associated with tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke.

After all, tobacco use is the single most significant preventable cause of death and currently, according to WHO, leads to the death of every tenth adult in the world. In addition, WHO reports more than 25 diseases that worsen due to smoking (cardiovascular, pulmonary and cancer).

According to WHO, more than 8 million people die every year from the «tobacco epidemic» in the world (more than 1.3 million of whom, while not smokers, die due to exposure to second-hand smoke).

In Russia, according to the Russian Ministry of Health, about 300 to 400 thousand people die prematurely every year from smoking-related causes. This is more than from road accidents, drug use or AIDS. According to statistics, about 30% of the population smokes in Russia.

Quitting smoking is not easy. Nicotine is known to be highly addictive, and we all know people who have tried to quit but only a few months later started smoking again. Surveys among the population of different countries show that two-thirds of smokers mistakenly believe that smoking causes little or no harm: few want to quit smoking and even fewer have successfully quit.

Today, there are effective treatments as well as nicotine substitutes. They must become more widely available and their cost must be reduced so that smokers in all countries can afford to purchase them.

Every year, more than 1.3 million people around the world die without being smokers due to exposure to second-hand smoke (Photo: SLP_London, licensed from Shutterstock.com)

The good news is that you can gain significant health benefits by quitting smoking at any age. Those who quit smoking at the age of 30-35 have a life expectancy equal to that of people who have never smoked.

In addition, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of tobacco users have expressed a desire to overcome tobacco addiction. Through active advocacy for effective tobacco cessation strategies; expanding access to services for quitters; disseminating information about tobacco company tactics and helping tobacco consumers successfully overcome addiction through initiatives under the slogan «refuse and win» campaign «The COVID-19 pandemic – is a reason to quit tobacco» will help create a healthier environment conducive to tobacco cessation.

In addition to harm to human health, WHO notes that tobacco also has a negative impact on the environment. Tobacco waste contains more than seven thousand toxic chemicals, including carcinogens. Two-thirds of the 15 billion cigarettes sold daily are thrown into nature. Cigarette butts account for 30-40% of all items picked up during coastal and urban cleaning.

WHO therefore calls on governments to implement appropriate policies in their countries to reduce tobacco consumption. For example, introduce a complete ban on advertising, promotion of the sale and sponsorship of tobacco; increase taxes on tobacco products; conduct educational events in medical and educational institutions that talk about the dangers of smoking and the consequences associated with it, etc.

On May 31, in many countries around the world, public and youth organizations are holding various events and mass events to promote a healthy lifestyle and quit smoking.

By the way, every year World No Tobacco Day is held under a certain motto. So, over the years, the topics of this Day were: «Tobacco and poverty: vicious circle», «Tobacco in any form and variety is deadly», «Youth without tobacco», «Gender factor and tobacco: special attention to marketing for women», «Confrontation of the tobacco industry», «Prohibition of advertising, promotion of sales and sponsorship of tobacco companies», «Increased tax on tobacco products», «Stop the illicit trade in tobacco products», «Tobacco – threat to development», «Tobacco and heart disease», «Tobacco and lung health», «Tobacco and the new generation», «Reason to give up tobacco», «Tobacco – threat to our environment» and others.

Let us remind you that every year on the third Thursday of November, a number of countries celebrate No Smoking Day.



Infographics – poster «World No Tobacco Day»

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