2023-05-30 12:12:10
Each year, various events are organized in France and around the world to raise awareness among as many people as possible about the dangers of tobacco. Among these events, World No Tobacco Day takes place every May 31st. This year, the World Health Organization has chosen the theme of tobacco growing and its challenges in smoking. Explanations.
Since 1987, May 31 has been World No Tobacco Day.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.3 billion people worldwide use tobacco products. The majority of consumers reside in low- and middle-income countries. In France as in the rest of the world, smoking and tobacco addiction contribute to poverty, since tobacco is a significant expense that impacts the rest of the personal or family budget.
In France, the number of smokers is estimated by Public Health France at 15 million people, including 12 million daily smokers. While the gap between men and women has narrowed over the years, social inequalities remain marked, despite awareness campaigns and smoking cessation aids. Between 2014 and 2019, the prevalence of smoking had decreased in France, a trend which stabilized in 2020, in the midst of the health crisis. Raising public awareness of the dangers of tobacco therefore remains a major challenge in reducing smoking and its consequences on health.
“Let’s grow food, not tobacco”
Every May 31, world no tobacco day is one of the opportunities to recall the risks associated with smoking, both active smoking and passive smoking, and to encourage the general public but also all stakeholders to act to reduce the impact of tobacco on health. Worldwide, the WHO recalls that the total economic cost of smoking is estimated at around 1,400 billion dollars each year. Raising the price of tobacco and tobacco products is one of the actions that have a real impact on smoking. A 10% rise in prices induces a drop in consumption of 4 to 5% depending on the country.
For this year 2023, the WHO has chosen to focus its communication campaign for World No Tobacco Day on tobacco culture with the theme “Let’s grow food, not tobacco”. The purpose of this campaign is to encourage tobacco-producing countries to reduce their production through two main means, on the one hand to stop the subsidies granted to tobacco cultivation and on the other hand to help tobacco producers to switch to more sustainable and food crops. By reducing global tobacco production, the WHO expects a positive and strong impact on global tobacco consumption!
Less tobacco for less smoking
Currently, tobacco is grown in more than 124 countries. Tobacco cultivation is not a very profitable crop, both for the farmers themselves but also for the producing countries. In addition, the land occupied by tobacco cultivation is no longer available to cultivate and produce food, which would better feed the populations of the countries concerned. Helping farmers stop growing tobacco and switch to more sustainable crops could help improve their incomes, while producing better food for local communities.
Such a transition, supported by the States and the WHO, could make it possible to reduce the share of agricultural land dedicated to tobacco production. The consequence would be an overall drop in world tobacco production, an increase in prices and therefore a drop in tobacco consumption. This new action strategy against tobacco has the merit of acting at the source of the problem, before tobacco is consumed and creates addiction. It remains to be seen whether the countries concerned will mobilize to respond to the WHO’s call and what the short, medium and long-term impact on smoking will be.
Published on May 28, 2020 by Déborah L., Doctor of Pharmacy. Updated by Estelle B., Doctor of Pharmacy, May 30, 2023.
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