Health minister favours warnings on cigarettes as feds outline tobacco strategy

More than 104 million people in India continue to put their health at risk by using combusted tobacco every day.

Tobacco use can cause cancer and strokes, and lung, heart, cardiovascular, respiratory and other non-communicable diseases.

Since 2016, the Tobacco Consequences Prevention Fund under the Ministry of Health has assisted the operation of free hotlines supporting cigarette addicts at Bach Mai hospital in Hanoi and Gia Dinh People’s Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, while helping eight other health facilities run consultations for people who want to quit smoking.

The global tobacco epidemic kills more than seven million people each year and in Pakistan, 108,800 deaths are associated with tobacco.

On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day Thursday, the United Nations health agency hailed that smoking had declined significantly since year 2000, but warned that there were still far too many people indulging in the unsafe habit.

Although thought to be considerably safer than tobacco cigarettes, studies have linked long-term use to heart disease and cancer. The smoke-free products are widely available across the OECD countries today making it convenient for people to switch from local cigarettes to electronic cigarettes.

Moeti said this in her message to celebrate the 2018 WTD, adding that World No Tobacco Day is a chance for government and the public to take a firm action. “For our part, we’re determined to deliver a smoke-free future through innovations that stand up to scientific scrutiny and that meet consumer needs”.

Tobacco contains over 4,000 harmful chemical compounds, exposure to some of which can raise the risk to a certain disease by at least 30 percent.

“Everyday people pick up tobacco, and it can affect their health in negative ways and things like that”, said Jordan Darensbourg.

While nicotine – a highly addictive toxin found in tobacco – is heavily linked with risky increases in heart rate and blood pressure.

Michael Perley, director of the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco, said the strategy helps the overall effort, but he deplored the lack of tough action on the industry.

Due to population growth, the number of smokers in the world has remained relatively stable at around 1.1 billion, Bettcher told reporters.

Contrary to popular belief, lung cancer is not the only casualty of breathing in secondhand smoke.

“In Myanmar, smoking and betel chewing have increased nationwide”.

Since then, the draft for the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill has been published for public comment.

The FSFW global survey, comprising 17,000 participants across 13 countries, also indicates enormous challenges in creating a one-size-fits-all approach to quit smoking.

Vietnam is among the 15 countries with the world’s highest smoking prevalence among male adults when one in every two male adults is a smoker.