The tobacco endgame: the importance of targets and geography
- 46 Downloads
‘Smoking is one of the leading causes of all statistics’
The World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 2015) report ‘Roadmap of actions to strengthen implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in the European Region 2015–2025: making tobacco a thing of the past’ (2015) sets a target of a minimum 30% relative reduction in the prevalence of current tobacco use in persons aged 15 years or over by 2025. This target is based on a baseline of smoking prevalence in 2010.
However, many countries have set much more ambitious targets, with a number having taken the denormalization of smoking philosophy so far that they have set national targets by which they aim to be smoke free. The apparent simplicity of this goal however is deceptive. Geography plays an important role in determining what exactly is meant by ‘smoke free’. This term has very different meanings in different countries. For the sake of clarity, it is important to acknowledge first...
- Canadian Public Health Association (2011). The winnable battle: ending tobacco use in Canada. Ottawa, ON: CPHA. https://www.cpha.ca/winnable-battle-ending-tobacco-use-canada. Accessed 30 May 2018.
- European Commission (2014). Identifying best practice in actions on tobacco smoking to reduce health inequalities. https://ec.europa.eu/health//sites/health/files/social_determinants/docs/2014_best_practice_report_en.pdf. Accessed 30 May 2018.
- Fill, C. (2009). Marketing communications – interactivity, communities and content (5th ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.Google Scholar
- Government of Canada (2017). Seizing the opportunity: the future of tobacco control in Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/programs/future-tobacco-control/future-tobacco-control.html. Accessed 30 May 2018.
- Health Service Executive (2017). Smoking and mental health. https://wwwhseie/eng/about/who/tobaccocontrol/smoking-and-mental-health/. Accessed 30 May 2018.
- I rish Department of Health (2013). Tobacco Free Ireland. Report. https://health.gov.ie/wpcontent/uploads/2014/03/TobaccoFreeIreland.pdf. Accessed 30 May 2018.
- Lee, J. G. L., Matthews, A. K., McCullen, C. A., & Melvin, C. L. (2014). Promotion of tobacco use cessation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people: a systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 47(6), 823–831.Google Scholar
- Ministry of Health (2018). Smokefree Aotearoa 2025. Web page. https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/preventative-health-wellness/tobacco-control/smokefree-2025. Accessed 30 May 2018.
- Royal Government of Bhutan (2010). Brief profile of tobacco control in Bhutan. Governmental Report. http://www.searo.who.int/tobacco/documents/2010-pub1.pdf?ua=1. Accessed 30 May 2018.
- Senthilingam, M. (2017). What Finland’s plan to be tobacco-free can teach the world. News Report. CNN. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/01/26/health/finland-tobacco-free-plan/index.html. Accessed 30 May 2018.
- Smoke-Free Ontario Scientific Advisory Committee, Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (Public Health Ontario). (2017). Evidence to guide action: comprehensive tobacco control in Ontario (2016). Toronto, ON: Queen's Printer for Ontario.Google Scholar
- The Scottish Government (2013). Creating a tobacco-free generation: a tobacco control strategy for Scotland. Governmental Report. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/programs/future-tobacco-control/future-tobacco-control.html. Accessed 30 May 2018.
- Ward, J. W. (2007). Silent victories: the history and practice of public health in twentieth-century America. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
- World Health Organization (2015). Roadmap of actions to strengthen implementation of the WHO framework convention on tobacco control in the European region 2015–2025: making tobacco a thing of the past. WHO Europe, 1–21.Google Scholar
- World Health Organization (2014). Finland – action plan to make the country smoke-free by 2040. Report http://www.who.int/fctc/implementation/news/news_Fin/en/. Accessed 30 May 2018.