Many Governments are making progress in the fight against tobacco use, but the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) latest tobacco report shows more could be done to help people quit the addictive substance. “Quitting tobacco is one of the best things any person can do for their own health,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a Press release.
About five billion people, or 65 per cent of the world’s population, are now covered by at least one of the WHO’s recommended anti-tobacco measures launched in 2007, according to the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2019.
The number has more than quadrupled since 2007 when only about 1 billion people, or 15 per cent of the world’s population, were protected by at least one of the measures.
The set of tobacco-control measures, known as MPOWER, included six key strategies — namely monitor tobacco use and prevention policies, protect people from tobacco smoke, offer help to quit tobacco use, warn people about the dangers of tobacco, enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and raise taxes on tobacco.
These measures provided “practical tools to help people kick the habit, adding years to their life and life to their years,” Ghebreyesus said.
Despite the progress, the report cited by Xinhua news agency said that many countries are still not adequately implementing the MPOWER policies, which can effectively help people quit tobacco and save lives.