TECHNICAL NOTE III
WHO REPORT ON THE GLOBAL TOBACCO EPIDEMIC, 2017
WHO REPORT ON THE GLOBAL TOBACCO EPIDEMIC, 2017
Tobacco kills up to half of its users who don’t quit (1-3).
Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year, including an estimated 1.3 million non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke Around 80% of the world's 1.3 billion tobacco users live in low- and middle-income countries.In 2020,... 22.3% of the world’s population used tobacco: 36.7% of men and 7.8% of women.
To address the tobacco epidemic, WHO Member States adopted the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2003. Currently 182 countries are Parties to this treaty.
The WHO MPOWER measures are in line with the WHO FCTC and have been shown to save lives and reduce costs from averted healthcare expenditure.
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Joining efforts to control two trelated global epidemics.
The article "The silent epidemic of COPD in Africa" discusses the under-recognized yet significant prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Africa. Despite being the third leading cause of death worldwide, COPD remains poorly studied and largely unknown in sub-Saharan Africa. Th...e article highlights risk factors such as tobacco smoking and biomass smoke exposure, which significantly affect both men and women. Biomass smoke, in particular, is linked to COPD in younger individuals and impacts women due to prolonged exposure during cooking. The piece calls for better awareness, training for healthcare providers, and proactive measures to address and manage COPD in the region.
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The article from The Lancet Global Health discusses the "silent epidemic" of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Africa, emphasizing its status as an under-recognized yet significant health issue. Although COPD is the third leading cause of death globally, it remains largely overlooked i...n African countries. The article highlights studies indicating varying prevalence rates of COPD across sub-Saharan Africa, with major risk factors including tobacco smoking and biomass smoke exposure. The findings suggest that COPD in Africa often affects younger age groups (30–40 years), likely due to early exposure to biomass smoke. The author calls for better education and training for healthcare providers and urges policymakers to address COPD through improved surveillance and effective prevention and treatment strategies.
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WHO REPORT ON THE GLOBAL TOBACCO EPIDEMIC, 2017
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health and was developed in response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic. Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region have made... attempts to implement the demand and supply reduction strategies for tobacco control as recommended by the treaty. While recognizing the need to accelerate implementation of the WHO FCTC in the Region, this document has been developed to support the Member States in implementing the treaty using a ‘PRACTICAL’ Approach which pertains to identified demand and supply reduction strategies under the treaty.
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