There are around 1.1 billion smokers in the world today, the same number as at the turn of the century, according to latest data from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

WHO’s “Global Report on Trends in Prevalence of Tobacco Smoking 2000-2025”, which coincided with World No Tobacco Day 2018, observed every May 31, warned that smoking is a habit that destroyed the hearts.

The report states: “Tobacco is the only legal drug that kills many of its users when used exactly as intended by manufacturers.

“WHO has estimated that tobacco use (smoking and smokeless) is currently responsible for the death of about six million people across the world each year with many of the deaths occurring prematurely.

“This total includes about 600,000 people that are also estimated to die from the effects of second-hand smoking.

“Although often associated with ill-health, disability and death from non-communicable chronic diseases, tobacco smoking is also associated with an increased risk of death from communicable diseases.”

The global health agency, in the report by health experts, said spreading the message that tobacco caused deadly illnesses such as heart disease and stroke helped prevent “needless” loss of life.

WHO warned that tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke were “major causes” of cardiovascular disease, contributing to three million deaths annually.

It said lack of awareness about the risks of tobacco use was most common in low and middle-income countries.

The report said in China, more than six out of 10 people were unaware that smoking could cause a heart attack while in India and Indonesia, more than half of all adults did not know that the habit could lead to a stroke.

Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director, Department for the Prevention of Non-communicable Diseases at WHO, said tobacco use was falling globally but it still killed more than seven million people a year.

“Progress is uneven in protecting consumers from the tobacco industry,” Bettcher said.

He explained that higher income countries were making “faster progress” than their poorer counterparts at protecting consumers, partly owing to stronger regulations.

“In spite of the apparent lack of progress in tackling the total number of smokers, the report highlighted that only one in five people smoked today, compared to more than one in four, 18 years ago.

“The decline was masked by the world’s growing population.’’

On efforts to encourage people to quit, the UN health expert warned that only around 12 per cent countries were on track to meet global targets to reduce by one-third the number of people dying from non-communicable diseases by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals agenda.

In a bid to promote a healthy heart, the WHO wanted every one of its 194 Member States to implement a series of increasingly strict tobacco control measures.

These include making indoor public and workplaces smoke-free and insisting that tobacco packaging carries warnings that demonstrate the health risks for users.

“The good news is that these deaths are preventable and we know what needs to be done,” Bettcher said.

He named Ireland and Uruguay as countries that had achieved the highest level of tobacco control before, adding that since 2007, the number of people around the world to have benefited from these measures has more than quadrupled, from one billion to five billion.

By Prudence Arobani

As the world prepares to commemorate World No Tobacco Day on Thursday, May 31, 2018, Uganda will destroy a 40-feet container full of shisha pots and related apparatus that were confiscated from bars and restaurants across the country.

Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Health, said Uganda is striving to fight against the use of the substance which is a source of income to some people and yet a drain to the economy in terms health care.

According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) statement on Wednesday, in Uganda the cost of tobacco use constitutes 0.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while expenditure on treating tobacco induced illness is two per cent of the National Health Expenditure.

The WHO noted that tobacco causes over one in 10 heart diseases, including stroke.

This year’s theme, “Tobacco and heart disease”, focuses on tobacco use as a key risk factor for developing heart and related diseases, including stroke.

A study, “The Health Cost of Tobacco in Uganda,” released last year shows that the total cost of tobacco use including the direct cost of treatment and the indirect costs of loss of income and productivity from death and disability is $126.48 million.

The study indicates that the total health cost outweighs the market value ($81.22 million) of tobacco products or the assumed benefits of tobacco use in the east African country.

Global annual costs from tobacco use, according to WHO, is $1.4 trillion in health care expenditure and lost productivity from illness and premature death.

The health body says there is need to highlight the dangers associated with using tobacco, and to press for policies to reduce its use.

Uganda enacted a Tobacco Act about three years ago spelling out stringent measures to curb the produce, import, use and promote tobacco products.

The law banned advertising, promotion and sponsorship by tobacco manufacturers, distributors and sellers.

Government also banned importation, manufacture and sale of tobacco products which do not conform to standards.

The country’s tax body, Uganda Revenue Authority, recently destroyed contraband cigarettes worth $410,000. The law also made it illegal to smoke in public places.

Atwine recently told reporters that, whereas the country has a good law, it needs to be implemented to realise the desired results.

Atwine said government would embark on sensitising young people on the dangers of smoking.

“The percentage of young people with mental illness is associated with drug abuse. Young people fancy smoking shisha – this is dangerous,” she said, noting that, in their campaign against smoking, they would target university students.

Civil society organisations are also pushing companies to have in place regulations against the use of tobacco.

Primah Kwagala, an official of The Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development, a civil society organisation, told newsmen that companies which fail to protect employees from smokers would face civil litigation.

Tobacco farmers are, however, protesting the increased pressure to stop tobacco use, arguing that their household income is reducing.

As the “World No Tobacco Day 2018″ is commemorated globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on countries to raise taxes on tobacco products to make them less affordable.

The WHO, in a message on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 to commemorate the day celebrated annually on May 31, also urged countries to enforce comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion, sponsorship and monitor tobacco use and prevention polities.

The organisation said it was concerned over the number of deaths caused by tobacco use as the global tobacco epidemic killed more than seven million people yearly.

It urged countries to therefore protect people from exposure to tobacco smoke by creating a completely smoke-free indoor public places, workplaces and public transport.

WHO advised countries to also offer help to people who wished to quit tobacco use by covering the cost of their treatments, provide medical care, counselling and toll-free quit lines.

The organisation urged governments to adopt these measures as it would help to reduce tobacco use and protect people from Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

“Nearly 80 per cent of the more than one billion smokers worldwide live in low and middle-income countries where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest.

“Despite the known harms of tobacco to heart health and the availability of solutions to reduce related death and disease, knowledge among large sections of the public that tobacco is one of the leading causes of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is low.

“Tobacco use is an important risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease.

“CVD kills more people than any other cause of death worldwide and tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure contributes to approximately 12 per cent of all heart disease deaths.

“Tobacco use is the second leading cause of CVD after high blood pressure,” it said.

WHO said that the World No Tobacco Day was commemorated to focus on the impact tobacco had on the cardiovascular health of people globally.

It therefore called on countries to intensify efforts at increasing public awareness on the dangers of tobacco products and the impact their use and exposure to could have on the cardiovascular health.

The theme for the 2018 celebration is “Tobacco and Heart Disease”.

By Yashim Katurak