USE “WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY” TO URGE SMOKE-FREE POLICIESThe World Heart Federation encourages its members to use World No Tobacco Day, 31 May 2008, as a vehicle to advocate for smoke-free environments and smoking cessation programmes. Tobacco smoking is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease and the leading preventable cause of death. It increases the risk of heart disease by 25-35%. All told, it kills a third to a half of the people who use it, the victims dying 15 years prematurely on average. It kills five million people per year. By 2030, the annual death toll could rise to more than eight million. “Tobacco-Free Youth”The theme of this year’s World No Tobacco Day is “Tobacco-Free Youth”, aimed at drawing attention to the vulnerability of young people to tobacco addiction. As part of its strategy to protect youth, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urging people to advocate for comprehensive bans on all advertising, sponsorship and promotion of tobacco products. Youth for healthAs another part of its strategy to protect youth, the WHO is urging nongovernmental organizations to help youth groups to campaign for tobacco-control policies. The World Heart Federation began to help strengthen youth activities in its membership network in 2006 when it helped eight member organizations send teams to the Global Youth Meet (GYM). Tobacco risks were emphasized at the meeting, which covered major threats to global health and was organized by the Indian youth nongovernmental organization HRIDAY_SHAN. Youth leaders from around the world who attended the meeting established the Youth for Health (Y4H) network. Y4H emphasized the need for smoke-free policy in the appeal that it presented to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon with signatures from over 500,000 youth and adults from around the world. The World Heart Federation Colombia Model Youth project has worked through the Latin American teams that went to the GYM to increase youth support for smoke-free policy in Colombia, Argentina, and Uruguay. These activities have helped involve youth in ongoing research, advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns at local level. The project also supports InterAmerican Heart Foundation as it develops a regional network of youth active in promoting smoke-free policy in the region. This has included organizing a youth meeting at the regional tobacco control conference held in Rio de Janeiro in September 2007, promotion of the declaration on tobacco drafted by the youth at that meeting, and organization of youth activities at the World Congress of Cardiology, 18-21 May 2008, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Models developed through these youth activities will be shared with members in the member meeting organized parallel to the Congress. This project was made possible thanks to the support of Julio Mario and Beatriz Santo Domingo. Global Smokefree PartnershipThe World Heart Federation also encourages its members to join the Global Smokefree Partnership, which focuses on the implementation of Article 8 (smoke-free public places) of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Membership to the Global Smokefree Partnership is free and provides access to a “members only” section of the partnership’s website containing valuable technical information and an antismoking advocacy toolkit in English, Spanish and French. The World Heart Federation is a board member and a founding and funding partner of the Global Smokefree Partnership, which is coordinated by the American Cancer Society and the Framework Convention Alliance for Tobacco Control. The Global Smokefree Partnership, with assistance from the World Heart Federation, has launched a new online toolkit to improve advocacy for smoke-free policies: www.globalsmokefreepartnership.org New smoke-free reportOn 7 February 2008, the WHO released a new report that provides a comprehensive analysis of the state of the global tobacco smoking epidemic and six proven strategies for reversing it. | |||||||
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