World No Tobacco Day 2023: Know the Theme, History, Life Threat
This year’s theme is “Grow food, not tobacco”.
World No Tobacco Day 2023: The World No Tobacco Day is celebrated every year on May 31. This day is observed as an initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco use and to have policies to reduce tobacco consumption. This yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what WHO is doing to fight the tobacco epidemic, and what people around the world can do to claim their right to health and healthy living and to protect future generations. This year No Tobacco global campaign aims to raise awareness about alternative crop production and marketing opportunities for tobacco farmers and encourage them to grow sustainable, nutritious crops. It will also aim to expose the tobacco industry’s efforts to interfere with attempts to substitute tobacco growing with sustainable crops, thereby contributing to the global food crisis.
World Tabacco Day 2023: History
The Member States of the WHO created World No Tobacco Day in 1987 to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes. In 1987, the World Health Assembly passed Resolution WHA40.38, calling for 7 April 1988 to be “a world no-smoking day.” In 1988, Resolution WHA42.19 was passed, calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on 31 May.
World Tabacco Day 2023: Theme
This year the theme for World No Tobacco Day is “We need food, not tobacco”.
“Tobacco is the only industry that produces products to make huge profits and at the same time damage the health and kill their consumers.”
Tobacco also plays a role in the increasing food insecurity as, according to the WHO, roughly 3.5 million hectares of land are used for growing tobacco each year. The production of tobacco also leads to deforestation and harms the environment.
- Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
- Over 80% of the world’s 1.3 billion tobacco users live in low- and middle-income countries.