WHO Lauds Progress To Check Smoking

Good progress has been made in tobacco control in recent years, but there is no time for complacency.
These are the words of Dr. Ruediger Krech, Director of World Health Organisation (WHO)Department of Health Promotion.
In a recent statement to assess progress to reduce tobacco, WHO however blames some companies striving to jeopardize progress made so far.
Dr  Krech said,”I’m astounded at the depths the tobacco industry will go to pursue profits at the expense of countless lives. We see that the minute a government thinks they have won the fight against tobacco the tobacco industry seizes the opportunity to manipulate health policies and sell their deadly products”.
The body  urged countries to continue putting in place tobacco control policies and sustain the fight against tobacco industry interference.
Currently the WHO South-East Asian Region has the highest percentage of population using tobacco at 26.5 percent with the European Region not far behind at 25.3 percent. The report shows that by 2030 the WHO European Region is projected to have the highest rates globally with a prevalence of just over 23 percent.
Tobacco use rates among women in WHO’s European region are more than double the global average and are reducing much slower than in all other regions.
While the numbers have steadily decreased over the years the world will make it to a 25 percent relative reduction in tobacco use by 2025, missing the voluntary global goal of 30 percent reduction from the 2010 baseline.
Only 56 countries globally will reach this goal, down four countries since the last report in 2021 according to the study.
The prevalence of tobacco use has changed little since 2010 in some countries, while six countries are still seeing tobacco use rising: Congo, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Oman, and Republic of Moldova.
WHO urges countries to accelerate efforts for tobacco control as there is still much work to be done. “The Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2023”, published by STOP and the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control, show that efforts to protect health policy from increased tobacco industry interference have deteriorated around the world.