World observes No Tobacco Day today

Today is World No Tobacco Day which is observed around the world every year on May 31. This year World No Tobacco Day, WNTD, is focusing on the theme tobacco as a threat to development. This theme has been set by the World Health Organization, WHO. 

The campaign aims to demonstrate the threats that the tobacco industry poses to sustainable development, including the health and economic well-being of citizens in all countries. It is intended to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption around the globe. 

The day is further intended to draw attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects, which currently lead to nearly 6 million deaths each year worldwide, including 600,000 of which are the result of



non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.

The member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day in 1987. In the past twenty nine years, the day has been met with both enthusiasm and resistance around the globe from governments, public health organizations, smokers, growers, and the tobacco industry.

Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda is chosen for this year's WHO Director-General Special Recognition Awards for accelerating India's tobacco control initiatives and taking bold measures to protect people against hazards of tobacco use.

Tobacco use kills more than seven million people every year and costs households and governments over 1.4 trillion dollar through health care expenditure and lost productivity.