World No Tobacco Day: World Concern On Tobacco In History Today, 31 May 1987

Illustration of a photo of a tobacco factory worker (Conscious Design/Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Every May 31, World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is celebrated. This annual warning informs the public about the dangers of tobacco use and the business practices of tobacco companies.

WNTD also shows what the World Health Organization (WHO) is doing to combat the tobacco use epidemic. The warning also directs what people around the world can do to claim their right to health and a healthy life and protect future generations.

WNTD's theme is "Quit tobacco to be a winner" or "Commit to quit". Around the world, there are several social media campaigns, where people post ideas and tips to help others quit smoking.

Using the hashtag #CommitToQuit, the campaign is expected to inspire the public to refrain from tobacco intake.

First WNTD anniversary

United Nations Headquarters (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

In 1987, WHO member states created WNTD to draw attention to the tobacco epidemic. They also focus on preventable causes of death and tobacco-related disease.

The WHO Assembly then passed WHA Resolution 40.38 and voted 7 April 1988 as "World No Tobacco Day". Then, in 1988, WHA Resolution 42.19 was passed for all health and community workers to help people quit smoking.

The assembly then commemorated WNTD on May 31 which until now is celebrated every year around the world. Citing the WHO website, the tobacco use epidemic is one of the greatest public health threats the world has ever faced.

Tobacco consumption kills more than 8 million people every year worldwide. More than 7 million of these deaths are attributable to direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are due to non-smokers being exposed to secondhand smoke.

All forms of tobacco are harmful and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. Smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide. Other tobacco products include pipe tobacco, various smokeless tobacco products, cigars, cigars, self-rolled tobacco, pipe tobacco, bidis and kretek.

Photo illustration (Baddy Abbas/Unsplash)

Pipe tobacco use damages health in a similar way to cigarette tobacco use. However, the health hazards of using pipe tobacco are often poorly understood by users.

The use of smokeless tobacco is highly addictive and detrimental to health. For those who are unfamiliar, smokeless tobacco is used by placing chewing or suction tobacco in the mouth, which is between the inner cheek and the gum at the bottom of the jaw. The tobacco is then chewed and sucked by the tobacco liquid that comes out.

Although smokeless, tobacco contains many toxins. These toxins are cancer-causing and their use increases the risk of head, neck, throat, esophagus and oral cancers as well as various dental diseases.

Meanwhile more than 80 percent of the 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related disease and death is heaviest. Tobacco use contributes to poverty by diverting household spending from basic necessities such as food and shelter to tobacco.

In 2020, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that cigarette spending, particularly filtered kretek cigarettes, was the second largest contributor to poverty. According to BPS records, the contribution rate of cigarettes is 11.17 percent in urban areas and 10.37 percent in rural areas.

"Filter kretek cigarettes are the second largest against the poverty line," said Head of BPS Cuk Suhariyanto, quoted from Kompas.

The contribution of cigarette use to poverty is less than the food component, namely rice, which is in the first position with a contribution of 20.35 percent in urban areas and 25.82 percent in rural areas.

*Read other information about WORLD HISTORY or read other interesting articles from Putri Ainur Islam.

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