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Egypt raises tobacco tax to reduce consumption

On July 1, the Egyptian government passed a new national tobacco tax that will increase the retail price of tobacco products. The Ministry of Finance, the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health worked together, under a Bloomberg Initiative grant managed by The Union, to build support for the tax, which is expected to reduce consumption of tobacco.
 

Union helps prepare for smokefree 2014 Olympics in Russia

Tobacco control advocates in Russia are gearing up for the smokefree 2014 Winter Olympics and Para-Olympics in Sochi. The Union and partners conducted a site visit to Sochi in preparation for the Olympics-related smokefree campaign.
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World No Tobacco Day News

Union grantees and partners around the world marked World No Tobacco Day on 31 May as new tobacco control legislation went into effect and tobacco control advocates increased efforts to raise awareness, train new supporters and help end the tobacco epidemic.

Highlights included:
 

The Union marks World No Tobacco Day as a critical point in the “Year of the Lung” 

Paris, 28 May 2010 – The Union is marking World No Tobacco Day, 31 May 2010, as a critical point in the 2010: Year of the Lung campaign. Studies show that 50% of all deaths from lung disease are linked to tobacco use.
The WHO theme for this year’s World No Tobacco Day is «Gender and Tobacco: with an emphasis on marketing to women». Although currently accounting for only 20 per cent of the world’s smokers, women are increasingly vulnerable to the tobacco epidemic.
Read the press release
 

Health Worker Guide launched by India's National Tobacco Control Programme

As part of India’s tobacco control effort, a guide developed by the Directorate General of Health Services in collaboration with The Union will be used to sensitise some one million community health workers. Public education is a critical component of India’s ‘National Tobacco Control Programme’. While needed at all levels, community health workers play a vital role in creating public awareness and influencing behaviour change as they have grassroots access through the primary health care system.
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Bangladesh gains ground in fight for tobacco control with support of The Union

The Union is helping the Government of Bangladesh, a coalition of more than 300 non-governmental organisations and other groups to work together to implement its 2005 national tobacco control law. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) released in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 22 December 2009 provides valuable data about tobacco use in Bangladesh and how the campaign for tobacco control is progressing.
 

Advancing towards a smokefree world, country by country, city by city

 9 December 2009 – According to The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2009, an additional 2.3 per cent of the world’s population – 154 million people – were covered by new smoke-free laws in 2008. However, the report also shows that less that less than 10% of the world’s population is covered by any of the six WHO MPOWER measures to reduce tobacco use. The report tracks the global status of tobacco control, highlighting the progress that has been made in implementing the second measure of MPOWER: Protect people from tobacco smoke.
 

Raise bidi tax: save six million lives

75% of all tobacco smoked in India is in the form of bidis. A Union report by world-leading economist Emil Sunley recommends increasing tax on bidis in India, saving six million lives.
 
    United for a tobacco-free future because:
  • 50% of all deaths from lung disease are linked to tobacco
  • 80% of smokers live in low- and middle-income countries
  • Around 500 million of the 1 billion smokers alive today will be killed by tobacco
  • Tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death in the world today
    The Union works to cut tobacco use and save lives by:
  • Promoting effective tobacco control policy through technical training and resources
  • Training a new generation of managers and practitioners
  • Supporting effective programmes through grants
  • Building knowledge for action through research

 

Tobacco Control at the Union


Download the tobacco control department brochure

The Union World Conference 2010

The Year of the Lung