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World No Tobacco Day

No Smoking on EarthEach year around the world, May 31 is designated as World No Tobacco Day. The World Health Organization (WHO) marked this annual health day to increase awareness of the health risks that tobacco use can cause and to reduce tobacco consumption by supporting policies that lessen its appeal. This year's theme is "World No Tobacco Day 2016: Get Ready for Plain Packaging."

Tobacco use is responsible for the deaths of close to 500,000 Americans and almost six million people around the world every year (Tobacco Free Kids). It is the leading cause of preventable death in our country and the rest of the world.

World No Tobacco Day 2016 Campaign Goals (The World Health Organization):

  • Increase awareness of what plain/standard packaging can do regarding tobacco control
  • Contribute useful information to make it easier for countries to develop plain packaging policies
  • Inspire countries to enforce stricter guidelines and legislation on tobacco marketing
  • Provide assistance to countries that are in the process of adopting plain packaging laws that are met with interference from the tobacco industry

The WHO Plain Packaging Facts (The World Health Organization):

  • 2012: Australia was the first country to thoroughly implement plain packaging
  • 2015: Ireland, the U.K. and France passed plain packaging laws effective in May 2016
  • Other nations are "in advanced stages of considering adoption of plain packaging laws"

Cigarette PackAccording to an article in The Guardian about plain packaging in Australia, "a year after being introduced, standardized packaging was associated with an increase in the number of people thinking about quitting and trying to quit, and that children aged between 12 and 17 found standardized packaging less appealing."

A study published in 2014 in the BMJ found that health warnings on cigarette packs (both pictorial and textual) "may achieve better outcomes among young adults, especially in countries considering or implementing plain packaging regulations."

The WHO designed posters for this year's World No Tobacco Day based on images from the Commonwealth Australia © to promote plain packaging for tobacco products. Their hope is that plain packaging will "reduce attractiveness of tobacco packaging, eliminate tobacco advertising and promotion, limit deceptive tobacco packaging, and increase the effectiveness of tobacco health warnings" (The World Health Organization). Click on the titles below to view a PDF of each poster.

Poster #1 - "Smoking Harms Unborn Babies"

Poster #2 - "Smoking Causes Blindness"

Poster #3 - "Smoking Causes Peripheral Vascular Disease"


To learn more about World No Tobacco Day 2016, please visit the World Health Organization's webpage.

 

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