A new WHO Global Investment Case for Tobacco Cessation, highlights that investing US$ 1.68 per capita each year in evidence-based cessation interventions such as brief advice, national toll-free quit lines, and SMS-based cessation support, could help 152 million tobacco users successfully quit by 2030, saving millions of lives and contributing to countries’ long-term economic growth.
To facilitate this process, WHO has established a tobacco cessation consortium, which will bring together partners to support countries in scaling up tobacco cessation.
The report and the investment case are released right after of the ninth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) and during the second session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP2) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
Delegates meet to counter the ambitions of the tobacco industry to keep millions hooked on its products, , as recent evidence also show that the tobacco industry used the COVID-19 pandemic to build influence with governments in 80 countries.
In 2020, 22.3% of the global population used tobacco, 36.7% of all men and 7.8% of the world’s women.
Target: Currently, 60 countries are on track to achieve the tobacco use reduction target by 2025. Since the last report two years ago, two other regions – the African and South-East Asian regions – have now joined the Americas region on-track to achieve a 30% reduction.
Children: Approximately 38 million children (aged 13-15) currently use tobacco (13 million girls and 25 million boys). In most countries it is illegal for minors to purchase tobacco products. The goal is to achieve zero child tobacco users.
Women: The number of women using tobacco in 2020 was 231 million. The age group with the highest prevalence rate among women for tobacco use is 55-64.
Source: Jordan News Agency