May 31st is World No Tobacco Day!

May 31, 2007

May 31st is World No Tobacco Day!

A global killer is ripping through the world’s poorer countries largely unchecked. Within 25 years, tobacco smoking will be responsible for 10 million deaths a year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). At least half of these deaths will be at ages 35 to 69, losing about 25 years of life expectancy. 

The same tobacco addiction that became the top preventable cause of death in the United States and other Western countries has already made inroads elsewhere. In fact, unless something changes soon, we are seeing history repeat itself—a massive uptake in smoking followed by a massive health toll years down the line.

Read the DCPP feature stories on tobacco control issues worldwide and in Croatia and Kenya:

Saving 150 Million Lives: The Case for Global Tobacco Control, by Prof. Prabhat Jha

Snuffing Out Tobacco-Related Disease, by Beryl Lieff Benderly

Efforts to Write Tobacco Control Laws Meet Resistance in Kenya, by Florence Machio