Each year, on 31 May, WHO and its partners mark World No Tobacco Day, highlighting the health and other risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco use.
Smokers significantly increase their risk of myocardial infarction and stroke, says the World Health Organization on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day.
The World No Tobacco Day is an annual day of awareness celebrated every 31st of May of each year. It is sponsored by the World Health Organization or WHO and it has been celebrated ever since 1987. This event aims to shed light to the health risks associated with using tobacco. This day also encourages governments and policymakers to adopt policies that are effective for reducing tobacco smoking and the use of other products similar to tobacco.
What is the World No Tobacco Day?
This day of celebrations intends to encourage all people around the world to abstain from all kinds of tobacco consumption all day round. This day aims to draw attention to the widespread use of tobacco all over the world and also to the numerous negative health effects of smoking. Various activities and events are held during this day including lectures about smoking and no smoking rallies and demonstrations from the people.
History of the World No Tobacco Day
It was in 1987 when the celebration of this important day was formalized by WHO. The World Health Assembly they did during that year passed the so-called Resolution WHA40.38 which they call the world no smoking day. The purpose of this day is to encourage smokers all over the world to stop their tobacco consumption for at least 24 hours and hopefully more.
In 1988, the World Health Assembly passed Resolution WHA42.19 in which they declared the 31st of May each year to be the World No Tobacco Day. Ever since that time, WHO has supported the celebration of this day. There are also different themes each year.
For the past 20 years, the day has always been celebrated with enthusiasm from people all over the world. Governments, public health organizations, growers, smokers, and the tobacco industry are just some of the organizations or groups that always participate in this event.
When is the World No Tobacco Day?
This unofficial holiday is always held on the 31st of May each year. This means that this year, the World No Tobacco Day will be held on Monday, May 31,
Last year in , people celebrated this event on Sunday, May 31.
World No Tobacco Day Campaign Focus
World No Tobacco Day will focus on tobacco and heart disease. The campaign will raise awareness of:
- The link between tobacco and heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases, including stroke, which together are the leading cause of death in the world.
- Actionable actions will be taken by including governments and the public, so that can reduce the risk to the heart health posed by tobacco.
World No Tobacco Day coincides with a series of global initiatives and opportunities to tackle the tobacco epidemic and its impact on public health, particularly by causing the death and suffering of millions of people in the world.
These actions include the Global Hearts and RESOLVE initiatives, which aim to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease and improve the care of patients and the third high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the prevention and control of no communicable diseases scheduled for .
Public Health US and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health launch a campaign from 23 May to 13 June to defeat conventional wisdom on tobacco and promote the devices implemented by Tobacco info service, available on phone call, on the Internet or by downloading the online shopping applications for Smartphone.
The slogan for World No Tobacco Day
“Tobacco breaks your heart” is the slogan chosen this year for World No Tobacco Day – telling the world that cigarettes do not just attack the lungs, but they attack other organs as well! Medicine has proven it for a long-time smoker greatly increase their risk of myocardial infarction and stroke.
For example, “80% of infarction victims aged under 45 are smokers,” noted the French Federation of Cardiology.
“Smoking is a major risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease,” says World Health Organization. It is “the second leading cause of cardiovascular disease, after high blood pressure,” she adds. “From a cigarette a day, heart and arteries at risk,” insists the French Federal Federation of Cardiology.
World No Tobacco Day is an Ultimate Reminder of 7 Reasons
World No Tobacco Day is a reminder of the 7 reasons given by the French Federation of Cardiology and taken over by INPES in 2015 to find the motivation to stop smoking:
- The heart rate is normally 20 minutes after the last cigarette.
- 1 day after the last cigarette, nicotine is no longer in the body.
- 2 days without smoking: the sense of smell and taste become better.
- After 3 to 9 months without tobacco, breathing progresses.
- 1 year after stopping, the risk of myocardial infarction is halved.
- 5 years after quitting, the risk of lung cancer decreases by 50%.
- 10 to 20 years later, life expectancy is the same as that of non-smokers.
Tobacco is a Threaten to the heart health
World No Tobacco Day will focus on the impact of tobacco on the cardiovascular health of people around the world. Smoking is an important risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease.
Despite the known harmful effects of smoking on cardiovascular health, as well as the existence of solutions to reduce deaths and related illnesses, a large part of the public understands that tobacco is a major cause of cardiovascular disease.
The contribution of Tobacco in Deaths
Cardiovascular disease kills more people than any other cause of death in the world, and tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke contribute about 17% of all deaths due to heart disease. Smoking is the second leading cause of cardiovascular disease after high blood pressure.
The global tobacco epidemic kills more than seven million people each year, nearly 900,000 of whom are non-smokers who die because they have been exposed to second-hand smoke. Nearly 80% of the world’s more than 1 billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of disease and death from tobacco is highest.
Tobacco kills more than 7 Million People a Year
The smoke “promotes the occurrence of spasms of the arteries (sudden narrowing), the formation of clots and the appearance of disorders of the heart rhythm”. It “progressively damages the arteries”, and finally the combustion releases carbon monoxide “which deprives the heart of part of the oxygen which is indispensable to it, and contributes to asphyxiate it”. “Whatever the level of exposure and the type of smoked tobacco (cigarette, cigar, pipe, shisha …) the risk of a cardiovascular accident is present. There is no small smoking,” said Daniel Thomas, Cardiologist at the Hospital in Paris, quoted in a Pfizer Pharmaceutical Group statement.
Tobacco kills more than 7 million people a year, including nearly 900,000 who do not even smoke, according to WHO. To protect yourself, doctors only have one tip: quit, or never start. In the US, the High Authority of Health recommends above all nicotine substitution treatments, which must lead to “the smoker no longer suffering from lack and physical dependence”.
Activities of the World No Tobacco Day
Refrain from Smoking
Perhaps the best way to celebrate this day is by refraining from smoking, if you are a smoker. Show your participation in this event by not smoking at all during this day. Not smoking for the day does not always point to cigarette use. We also include electric cigarette use and vape.
Lectures about Smoking
From the many kinds of activities held for the event, lectures about smoking can be one of the best ones. There will be lectures about the bad health effects of smoking as well as the status of different countries and different areas regarding smoking. It is a good idea to educate yourself about these things because such information is so useful that many lives depend on it.
Rallies about Tobacco Use
Many activities actually participate in rallies and demonstrations against tobacco use. Many people call for the complete ban of tobacco or cigarette in their places. These rallies are held so that people can voice out their opinions about smoking. They also aim to educate people around them about smoking and its bad effects.
Some Facts about the World No Tobacco Day
- According to statistics from the WHO, smoking kills about 7 million people around the world each year. This number is predicted to grow unless people refrain from smoking and anti-tobacco policies are put in place.
- In the US, smoking is the one that contributed the most to deaths due to preventable causes.
- Smoking can cause different types of cancer including lung disease, stroke, and heart disease. Apart from cancer, smoking can also lead to many other kinds of health problems especially those that are related to the lungs.
- Each year, there is a different theme for the celebration of this day.
- Second hand smokers (those who just inhale the smoke of first hand smokers) are the ones that are in greatest danger and most risk for health problems.
| World No Tobacco Day | |
| The World No Tobacco Day is an annual day of awareness celebrated every 31st of May of each year. It is sponsored by the World Health Organization or WHO and it has been celebrated ever since 1987. This event aims to shed light to the health risks associated with using tobacco. | |
| Date: | 31 May, |
| Theme: |
tobacco and lung health
|
| Slogan: |
Tobacco breaks your heart
|
| Frequency: | Annual |
| Observed by: |
World Health Organization (WHO)
|
World No Tobacco Day Themes (1987-)
- The theme for 1987 was “1st Smoke-free Olympics (1988 Olympic Winter Games – Calgary)”.
- The theme for 1988 was “Tobacco or Health: choose health”.
- The theme for 1989 was “Women and tobacco: the female smoker: at added risk”.
- The theme for 1990 was “Childhood and youth without tobacco: growing up without tobacco”.
- The theme for 1991 was “Public places and transport: better be tobacco free”.
- The theme for 1992 was “Tobacco free workplaces: safer and healthier”.
- The theme for 1993 was “Health services: our windows to a tobacco free world”.
- The theme for 1994 was “Media and tobacco: get the message across”.
- The theme for 1995 was “Tobacco costs more than you think”.
- The theme for 1997 was “United for a tobacco free world”.
- The theme for 1996 was “Sport and art without tobacco: play it tobacco free”.
- The theme for 1998 was “Growing up without tobacco”.
- The theme for 1999 was “Leave the pack behind”.
- The theme for 2000 was “Tobacco kills, don’t be duped”.
- The theme for 2001 was “Second-hand smoke kills”.
- The theme for 2002 was “Tobacco free sports”.
- The theme for 2003 was “Tobacco free film, tobacco free fashion”.
- The theme for 2004 was “Tobacco and poverty, a vicious circle”.
- The theme for 2005 was “Health professionals against tobacco”.
- The theme for 2006 was “Tobacco: deadly in any form or disguise”.
- The theme for 2007 was “Smoke free inside”.
- The theme for 2008 was “Tobacco-free youth”.
- The theme for 2009 was “Tobacco health warnings”.
- The theme for 2010 was “Gender and tobacco with an emphasis on marketing to women”.
- The theme for 2011 was “The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control”.
- The theme for 2012 was “Tobacco industry interference”.
- The theme for 2013 was “Ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship”.
- The theme for 2014 was “raise taxes on tobacco”.
- The theme for 2015 was “Stop illicit trade of tobacco products”.
- The theme for 2016 was “Get ready for plain packaging”.
- The theme for 2017 was “Tobacco – a threat to development”.
- The theme for was “Tobacco and heart disease”. It will focus on the cardiovascular health.
- The theme for is “Tobacco and Lung Health: Tobacco breaks your heart”.
World No Tobacco Day Quotes & Messages
- The true essence of smoking is illness, death and horror – not the charm the pushers in the tobacco business try to depict — David Byrne
- Smoking is like committing suicide without actually dying. I smoke because it’s bad, it’s really simple — Damien Hirst
- You’re in every case happier if you quit smoking; it’s never too late — Loni Anderson
- Tobacco smoke contains chemicals that debilitate the body’s immune framework, making it progressively helpless to sickness and disabling its capacity to destroy cancer cells — Michael Greger
- I count him bolder who defeats his wants than him who conquers his foes; for the hardest triumph is over self — Aristotle
- Saying no to tobacco is the easiest thing on the planet. I know since I’ve done it a large number of times — Imprint Twain
- Every one of us should think about what’s to come. Each puff on a cigarette is another tick more like a time bomb of terrible outcomes. Christopher Hitchens didn’t care about the outcomes of smoking cigarettes. Appallingly, he passed on of throat cancer in December 2011 — Beam Solace
- Desire is the beginning stage of all accomplishment, not a hope, not a desire, yet a sharp throbbing wish, which rises above everything — Napoleon Slope
- It takes a great deal of devotion to stop smoking, and whether you surrender for good on your first attempt or need to give it a few attempts – simply continue swinging at it and you will succeed — Harmon Killebrew
- Take your life back from the tobacco organizations. They don’t own you anymore and don’t care about you anymore – Duane Alan Hahn
- Cigarette: A flame toward one side, a fool at the other, and a bit of tobacco in the middle.
- If we lose the fight against tobacco, we will lose the war against cancer
- A cigarette is the main buyer item which when utilized as directed kills its buyer.
World No Tobacco Day Posters & Pictures
