World No Tobacco Day 2021

In News

Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has urged everyone to abstain from Tobacco, on the occasion of the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD).

About World No Tobacco Day

• Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) and global partners celebrate the WNTD on 31^st May.
• Theme for 2021: Commit to Quit.
  • The campaign aims to empower 100 million tobacco users to make a quit attempt by creating networks of support and increasing access to services proven to help tobacco users quit successfully.

Impact of Tobacco Consumption

• Tobacco use has negative social consequences as it affects social interactions and relationships negatively.
• It adds to the financial burden as smokers burn through an average of USD 1.4 million in personal costs, including spending on cigarettes and associated medical costs.
• Tobacco industry exploits farmers and children and deteriorates growers’ health as they  are exposed to ill health by nicotine that is absorbed through the skin, as well as exposure to heavy pesticides and tobacco dust.
• It has physical impacts on almost every body part and their functions and increases the risk of cancers, heart diseases and other fertility and reproduction related problems.
  • Smokers face a 40-50 percent higher risk of developing severe disease deaths from Covid-19.
  • Passive smoking or second-hand smoke threatens the health of those who do not smoke.
• Tobacco causes air pollution and pollutes the environment as cigarette butts are among the most commonly discarded pieces of waste globally.
  • Hazardous substances like arsenic, lead, nicotine and formaldehyde have been identified in cigarette butts, which leach into aquatic environments and soil.

Benefits of Quitting

• Immediate and long-term health benefits of quitting include normal levels of carbon monoxide level in blood, decreased coughing and shortness of breath, reduced risk of coronary heart disease and cancers.
• Quitting smoking decreases the excess risk of many diseases related to second-hand smoke in children, such as respiratory diseases like asthma and ear infections.
• It also reduces the chances of impotence, having difficulty getting pregnant, having premature births, babies with low birth weights and miscarriage.

Data on Tobacco Consumption in India

• In India, over 1.3 million deaths are attributable to tobacco use every year amounting to 3500 deaths per day, imposing a lot of avoidable socio-economic burden.
• In addition to the death and diseases, tobacco also impacts the economic development of the country.
• As per the WHO study titled “Economic Costs of Diseases and Deaths Attributable to Tobacco Use in India” it has been estimated that the economic burden of diseases and deaths attributable to tobacco use of tobacco in India was as high as Rs. 1.77 lakh crores, amounting to approx 1 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Global Reduction Efforts

• Director General’s Special Recognition Awards
  • Every year, WHO recognizes individuals or organizations in WHO regions for their accomplishments in the area of tobacco control.
  • Indian Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has been conferred the award for his efforts to control tobacco consumption in India and in 2019 national legislation to ban e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
• WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)
  • It provides a strong, concerted response to the global tobacco epidemic and its enormous health, social, environmental and economic costs.
  • To help countries implement the WHO FCTC, WHO introduced the MPOWER technical package to support implementation of key strategies, such as raising tobacco taxes, creating smoke-free environments and offering help to quit.
  • FCTC’s measures to combat tobacco use include price and tax measures, large, graphic warnings on tobacco packages, 100 percent smoke-free public spaces, ban on tobacco marketing, etc.
  • Global Youth Tobacco Survey: It is a self-administered, school-based survey of students in grades associated with 13 to 15 years of age designed to enhance the capacity of countries to monitor tobacco use among youth and to guide the implementation and evaluation of tobacco prevention and control programmes.
• United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs)
  • It has both the WHO and the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC as leading participants, has crafted a Model policy for UN agencies on preventing tobacco industry interference, a strong policy to prevent industry tactics operating in the UN and then ensured its implementation at the intergovernmental level.
• Firewall by WHO
  • In 2007, WHO established a firewall in 2007 to protect policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.
  • The United Nations Global Compact followed suit, banning the tobacco industry from participation in 2017, flagging the problematic and irreconcilable conflicts between the goals of the UN and an industry that is responsible for more than 8 million deaths per year.
• Other Steps
  • In 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution for Smoke-free United Nations Premises.
  • In 2012, the United Nations Economic and Social Council called for “system-wide coherence on tobacco control”.

Control Measures in India

• With the persistent efforts of Government and State Governments, the prevalence of tobacco use has decreased by six percentage points from 34.6 percent in 2009-10 to 28.6 percent in 2016-17.
• Cigarettes Act, 1975: Tobacco control legislation in India dates back to Cigarettes Act, 1975 which mandates display of statutory health warnings in advertisement and on cartons and cigarette packages.
• Delhi Prohibition of Smoking and Non Smokers Health Protection Act: It was passed in the Delhi assembly in 1997 and became the model for Central Legislation banning smoking in public places in 2002, on the directions of the Supreme Court.
• Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade, Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA) 2003: The comprehensive tobacco control legislation aims to provide smoke free public places and also places restrictions on tobacco advertising and promotion.
• Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019: It prohibits production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of e-Cigarettes. 
• Tobacco Quitline Services: These toll free quit line services (1800-112-356) were initiated in 2016 and were expanded in September, 2018. These are now available in 16 languages and other local dialects from 4 centres.
• National Health Policy 2017: It sets an ambitious target of reducing tobacco use by 30 percent by 2025, which has been devised keeping in view the targets for control of NCDs.

Source: PIB