Bloomberg Philanthropies Reports Progress in Fighting Global Tobacco Epidemic
November 18, 2011
Marking five years of significant achievements in global tobacco control, Bloomberg Philanthropies has released a report on the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use that shows ground-breaking progress in reducing tobacco use and protecting everyone from secondhand smoke.
The Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco use focuses on six proven policies to reduce tobacco use: protecting people from secondhand smoke, offering help to quit, raising awareness about the dangers of tobacco through warning labels and public education campaigns, enforcing tobacco advertising bans, and raising the price of tobacco products.
Michael Bloomberg, philanthropist and Mayor of New York City, stated, “The science is clear: employ these approaches and smoking rates fall.”
Since launch of the initiative in 2007, tobacco control efforts have resulted in victories worldwide. These include:
21 countries passed 100 percent smoke-free laws
400 percent increase in the number of people protected from secondhand smoke around the globe
64 anti-tobacco media campaigns viewed by 643 million people.
More than 4,500 journalists from low- and middle-income countries educated on tobacco control issues
While these victories are significant, governments must continue to enact strong tobacco control policies to reduce the deadly toll of tobacco. Unless urgent action is taken, tobacco will kill one billion people worldwide this century, the vast majority in low- and middle-income countries.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is proud to be a partner in the Bloomberg Initiative along with the World Health Organization, the CDC Foundation, the World Lung Foundation, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Infographic: MikeBloomberg.com