The most recent World Health Organization (WHO) report states that about a billion people will perish with the continuous consumption of tobacco. The report also reveals that about two-thirds of the worldwide smokers live in 10 countries — China, India, Japan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Germany, United States, Russia, Turkey and Indonesia. China seems to account for 30% of the smokers and India 10% alone.
Another interesting revelation made by WHO was that about 80% of the deaths caused by smoking will occur in middle and lower income countries by 2030. This highlights the fact that tobacco consumption in developing countries is on a raging high.
The Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008
The WHO report refers to the trends of tobacco consumption as a “global tobacco epidemic”. The Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008 seeks to achieve the following goals:
- Prevent children to begin smoking right from their childhood days
- Encourage smokers to quit smoking
- Protect non-smokers from secondhand smoke or passive smoking
Tobacco Control Policies
The WHO report is also encouraging governments struggling with tobacco consumption with a few basic “tobacco control policies”. The policies required to be implemented by these governments are listed here below:
- A ban on tobacco commercials
- A ban on sponsorships and promotions for smoking publicity
- Preventing and protecting non-smokers from secondhand smoke
- Creating an awareness program about the dangers of smoking
- Helping those who want to quit smoking
- To check tobacco consumption in order to prevent the epidemic
The United Nations health agency reported that governments around the world collected about $200 billion and above as tobacco taxes every year but spent one-fifth of 1 percent of that revenue on tobacco control. The United States second-largest cigarette generating entity, R.J.Reynolds id doing its best by promising to spend enough in advertising the dangers of smoking.
