Day without tobacco – 2013
World No Tobacco Day
It was established in 1987 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and its deadly consequences.
The task was set before the world community to ensure that the problem of tobacco smoking disappeared in the XXI century. With this action, WHO warns the world's population (smokers are more than half of the entire male population of the Earth and about a quarter of the female) against the addiction – one of the most common epidemics in the entire history of mankind – nicotinomania, which is on a par with alcoholism and drug addiction.
There is an expression that "a drop of nicotine kills a horse." Some scientists believe that this drop is capable of killing not one, but three horses. As for people, the lethal dose of nicotine for a person is 50-100 mg. When smoking 20-25 cigarettes a day for 30 years, a smoker passes 150-160 kilograms of tobacco through his lungs and does not die just because he introduces it in small doses. Tobacco smoke causes and exacerbates many diseases, acting on almost all organs. Scientists have found that when smoking one pack of cigarettes, a person receives a dose of radiation seven times more than that which is recognized as the maximum permissible. And radiation of tobacco origin, together with other carcinogenic substances, is the main cause of cancer.
According to WHO, tobacco smoking is the main preventable cause of death. Every year, more than 6 million people die from tobacco-related myocardial infarction, stroke, cancer, lung disease and other diseases. This figure does not include more than 600 thousand people who die from passive smoking every year. In the absence of action, by 2030, the epidemic will cause the death of more than eight million people annually. More than 80% of these preventable deaths will occur among people living in low- and middle-income countries.
In the Russian Federation, smoking is the most common bad habit. According to WHO, 39% of adults in Russia smoke – 60% of men (30.6 million people), 22% of women (13.3 million) and a quarter of teenagers from 13 to 15 years old. In addition, over half of Russian adults are passive smokers in public places.
According to Moody's rating agency, 370 billion cigarettes were sold on the Russian tobacco market in 2012 and it is the largest in terms of consumption, with the exception of China, and is significantly ahead of the US market.
According to the Ministry of Health of Russia, the country's economy is losing 1.5 trillion rubles, as about 300 thousand people of working age die prematurely every year due to tobacco consumption.
In connection with such alarming figures, the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation have begun active actions to combat smoking. In September 2010, the Government of the Russian Federation approved the Concept of Implementation of the State Policy of Combating Tobacco Consumption for 2010-2015.
At the end of February 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an anti-smoking law, according to which, from June 1, 2013, Russians will be completely banned from smoking in state institutions, universities, schools, hospitals, stadiums, restaurants, trains, train stations and metro stations. "Smoking rooms" will remain only in enterprises and offices. Cigarettes will disappear from shop windows and counters – instead of them there will be only a price list for tobacco products. The sale of electronic cigarettes and chewing tobacco mixture is prohibited. The law also prohibits tobacco companies from holding lotteries and sponsoring festivals.
Every year, WHO defines the theme of World No Tobacco Day, in 2013 it is "A ban on advertising, sales promotion and sponsorship of tobacco companies".
According to the requirements of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), each party to this agreement within five years after the entry into force of the Convention for this party must impose a complete ban on all advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco. Evidence suggests that a complete ban on advertising leads to a decrease in the number of people starting and continuing to smoke. Statistics show that banning tobacco advertising and sponsorship is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce tobacco demand and, therefore, one of the "most profitable" ways to combat tobacco.
World No Tobacco Day 2013 will aim to encourage countries to implement article 13 of the WHO FCTC and its guidelines with a view to introducing a complete ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Emphasis will also be placed on intensifying local, national and international efforts to counter the efforts of the tobacco industry aimed at undermining tobacco control, and, in particular, attempts by industry to delay or prevent the introduction of a complete ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco companies.
The ultimate goal of World No Tobacco Day is to help protect present and future generations not only from these devastating health consequences, but also from the social, environmental and economic disasters associated with tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru31.05.2013