Every year on the 31st of May, the World Health Organization holds a campaign, called World No Tobacco Day, to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocate for policies to reduce its consumption. The theme of this year's campaign is "ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship", which are some of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco consumption. Smoking kills nearly six million people each year, including more than 600,000 who die due to exposure to second-hand smoke. It is extremely difficult for people to quit smoking on their own, which is why healthcare systems should hold the primary responsibility of treating tobacco dependance. (who.int/campaigns/no-tobacco-day/2013)
The World Health Organization has outline six policies that can curb the tobacco epidemic:
- Monitoring tobacco use and prevention
- Protecting people from tobacco smoke
- Offering help to quit tobacco use
- Warning people about the dangers of tobacco
- Enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
- Raising taxes on tobacco
Click here for more information on banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
Click here for a special collection of Cochrane Reviews that The Cochrane Library organized for last year's World No Tobacco Day.
