Bangkok--24 Jul--The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Each year, nearly 5 million people —14,000 every day — are killed by tobacco, more than are killed by any other single agent. Tobacco now accounts for more than one in 10 adult deaths. Unless urgent action is taken, the number of people killed by tobacco will double in the coming decades and one billion people will be killed by tobacco in this century. To reverse the global tobacco epidemic, the Bloomberg Initiative supports adoption of the MPOWER interventions, all of which are proven to be effective: 1. Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies 2. Protect people from tobacco smoke 3. Offer help to quit tobacco use 4. Warn about the dangers of tobacco 5. Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship 6. Raise taxes on tobacco Focus Countries: Low- and middle-income countries, particularly China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Bangladesh, which have approximately half of the world’s smokers, as well as other countries with large numbers of smokers. The initiative has four key components: 1. Support government efforts to implement the MPOWER interventions. 2. Support civil society’s efforts to educate communities and promote effective tobacco control. 3. Monitor global tobacco use and countries’ progress implementing key interventions. 4. Optimize the key tobacco control interventions. Key Partner Organizations and Activities: World Lung Foundation (WLF; New York, NY) and its partner organization, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD; Paris, France) - Administers grant program to support implementation of in-country tobacco control interventions, in partnership with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids - Operates global resource center for effective anti-tobacco advertisements - Supports interventions to prevent tobacco smuggling by supporting international negotiations - Operates regional Resource Centers on tobacco control Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (TFK; Washington, DC) - Operates international resource center providing research and legal expertise, and helps governments and non-governmental entities improve public information about tobacco - Administers grant program to support in-country tobacco control advocacy, in partnership with IUATLD World Health Organization (WHO; Geneva, Switzerland) - Provides global, regional and in-country leadership in tobacco control - Monitors global tobacco control policy implementation at the country levelCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation (Atlanta, GA) - Measures burden of tobacco and status of tobacco control through the Global Adult Tobacco SurveyJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (Baltimore, Maryland) - Provides training, and undertakes economic studies - Assist partners in China to expand level tobacco control initiatives - Works to analyze, refine and optimize tobacco control interventionsFacts about Global Tobacco Use - Tobacco kills up to half of people who smoke unless they quit. - In the 20th century, 100 million people died from tobacco-related causes. - There are currently 5.4 million tobacco-related deaths every year. - Governments around the world collect more than US$ 200 billion in tobacco taxes each year. They spend less than one fifth of 1% of that amount on tobacco control. - 3.9 billion people live in low and middle income countries where governments collect US$66 billion in tobacco taxes and spend only US$14 million on tobacco control. - Unless urgent action is taken: - Tobacco will kill more than 175 million people worldwide between now and the year 2030. - By 2030, there will be more than 8 million deaths every year, and more than 80% of tobacco deaths will be in developing countries. - There will be up to one billion tobacco-related deaths during the 21st century. Facts about Tobacco Use in China, India, and Russia - China - There are currently 1.3 billion smokers worldwide, and more than 300 million of them live in China. - Tobacco kills approximately 1 million people in China annually. - If smoking rates remain unchanged, the death toll in China is expected to increase to 2.2 million per year by 2020. - India - There are an estimated 120 million tobacco smokers. - Smoking causes nearly 1 million premature deaths annually in India. - Russia - The proportion of Russians who smoke is among the highest in the world, with more than one third of the population smoking. - More than 300,000 Russians die each year from tobacco-related causes. - Tobacco use is an important contributor to Russia’s demographic crisis. For more information please contact Dr. Pensri Tasnavites Director, Strategic Advisor Health Counterparts Consulting (HCC); SP Consulting Associate mobile: 66 81 810 3151 Jensiree Esaparn Media Consultant Health Counterparts Consulting (HCC); SP Consulting Associate mobile: 66 81 810 5440