World No Tobacco Day 2018

by HCC

World No Tobacco Day 2018 will focus on the impact tobacco has on the cardiovascular health of people worldwide.

Every year, on 31 May, WHO and partners mark World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), highlighting the health and other risks associated with tobacco use, and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.

Tobacco use is an important risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease.

Despite the devastating harms of tobacco to heart health, and the availability of solutions to reduce tobacco-related death and disease, knowledge among large sections of the public that tobacco is one of the leading causes of CVD is low.

The campaign will increase awareness on the:

  • link between tobacco and heart and other cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including stroke, which combined are the world’s leading causes of death;
  • feasible actions and measures that key audiences, including governments and the public, can take to reduce the risks to heart health posed by tobacco.

World No Tobacco Day 2018 coincides with a range of global initiatives and opportunities aimed at addressing the tobacco epidemic and its impact of public health, particularly in causing the death and suffering of millions of people globally. These actions include the WHO-supported Global Hearts and RESOLVE initiatives, which aim to reduce cardiovascular disease deaths and improve care, and the third United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of NCDs , being held in 2018.

Read the HCC report: Civil Society Led Tobacco Control Advocacy in the Caribbean: Experiences from The Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control. Read/download

Civil Society Led Tobacco Control Advocacy in the CaribbeanThis report documents best practices of the Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control (JCTC) and other Caribbean CSOs in the implementation of tobacco control measures within the region. The report explores examples of effective advocacy strategies that have withstood the constant pressure of the tobacco industry and have created stepping stones for action in countries where there is a lack of political will. Successes recorded here are in countries where governments displayed strong political will for tobacco control and which collaborated with key stakeholders, including CSOs, to achieve FCTC objectives. Read/download