WHO / WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY

Action to stamp out tobacco use can help countries prevent millions of people falling ill and dying from tobacco-related disease, combat poverty and, according to a first-ever WHO report, reduce large-scale environmental degradation. WHO

• Video Length: 00:02:10
• Production Date: 30 May 2017
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO
• Subject Topical: HEALTH; TOBACCO CONTROL
• MAMS Id: 1896586
• Parent Id: 1896586
• Alternate Title: unifeed170530e

Description

STORY: WHO / WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY
TRT: 2:10
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 30 MAY 2017, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / RECENT

Shotlist

RECENT – GENEVA

1 Wide shot, exterior WHO headquarters

30 MAY 2017, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

2. Pan left, to interview
3. Close up, report
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Vinayak Mohan Prasad, Programme Manager Tobacco Free Initiative, Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases, World Health Organization (WHO):
“More than seven million people die from tobacco. 1.8% of the GDP, almost 1.4 trillion dollars, is impacted from tobacco use and we could do a lot to reduce this burden.”
5. Close up, report
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Vinayak Mohan Prasad, Programme Manager Tobacco Free Initiative, Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases, World Health Organization (WHO):
“It damages the soil, it leads to deforestation, and has severe economic impact, which is not yet been fully documented because of lack of data, which the governments have not called on the tobacco industry to report upon.”
7. Tilt down, ballons
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Vinayak Mohan Prasad, Programme Manager Tobacco Free Initiative, Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases, World Health Organization (WHO):
“More than 30% of cigarette butts constitutes the litter which we see in terms of waste. In the Asian economies, (with) smokeless tobacco products, there are a lot of plastic pouches...so both of these contribute to huge problems because of the toxic waste in the litter and also because these are non-biodegradable. And so it harms the water bodies and has a huge economic cost to clean it up.”
9. Close up, publication
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Vinayak Mohan Prasad, Programme Manager Tobacco Free Initiative, Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Raising tobacco excise taxes reduces the demand for tobacco but at the same time governments get a lot of revenue resources to fund the health programmes. There are a number of countries that have effectively raised tobacco excise taxes and used the money to support universal health coverage, for example in Philippines, in Costa Rica, and so we have a different model where we see double benefit just by raising tobacco taxes.”
11. Wide shot, exhibition

Storyline

Action to stamp out tobacco use can help countries prevent millions of people falling ill and dying from tobacco-related disease, combat poverty and, according to a first-ever WHO report, reduce large-scale environmental degradation.

On World No Tobacco Day 2017, WHO is highlighting how tobacco threatens the development of nations worldwide, and is calling on governments to implement strong tobacco control measures. These include banning marketing and advertising of tobacco, promoting plain packaging of tobacco products, raising excise taxes, and making indoor public places and workplaces smoke-free.
Tobacco use kills more than 7 million people every year and costs households and governments over US$ 1.4 trillion through healthcare expenditure and lost productivity.

All countries have committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to strengthen universal peace and eradicate poverty. Key elements of this agenda include implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and by 2030 reducing by one third premature death from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including heart and lung diseases, cancer, and diabetes, for which tobacco use is a key risk factor.

The first-ever WHO report, Tobacco and its environmental impact: an overview, also shows the impact of this product on nature, including:

Tobacco waste contains over 7000 toxic chemicals that poison the environment, including human carcinogens.

Tobacco smoke emissions contribute thousands of tons of human carcinogens, toxicants, and greenhouse gases to the environment. And tobacco waste is the largest type of litter by count globally.

Up to 10 billion of the 15 billion cigarettes sold daily are disposed in the environment.

Cigarette butts account for 30–40% of all items collected in coastal and urban clean-ups.

Tobacco threatens all people, and national and regional development, in many ways, including:

Poverty: Around 860 million adult smokers live in low- and middle-income countries. Many studies have shown that in the poorest households, spending on tobacco products often represents more than 10% of total household expenditure – meaning less money for food, education and healthcare.

Children and education: Tobacco farming stops children attending school. 10%–14% of children from tobacco-growing families miss class because of working in tobacco fields.

Women: 60%–70% of tobacco farm workers are women, putting them in close contact with often hazardous chemicals.

Health: Tobacco contributes to 16% of all noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) deaths.

Governments collect nearly US$ 270 billion in tobacco excise tax revenues each year, but this could increase by over 50%, generating an additional US$ 141 billion, simply from raising taxes on cigarettes by just US$ 0.80 per pack (equivalent to one international dollar) in all countries. Increased tobacco taxation revenues will strengthen domestic resource mobilization, creating the fiscal space needed for countries to meet development priorities under the 2030 Agenda.

Tobacco-related illness is one of the biggest public health threats the world faces, killing more than 7 million people a year. But tobacco use is one of the largest preventable causes of noncommunicable diseases.

Tobacco control represents a powerful tool in improving health in communities and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG target 3.4 is to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by one third by 2030, including cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes.

Another SDG target, 3.a, calls for implementation of the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The WHO FCTC entered into force in 2005, and its Parties are obliged to take a number of steps to reduce demand and supply for tobacco products. Actions addressed in the Convention include protecting people from exposure to tobacco smoke; banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; banning sales to minors; requiring health warnings on tobacco packaging; promoting tobacco cessation; increasing tobacco taxes; and creating a national coordinating mechanism for tobacco control. There are 180 Parties to the Convention.