Features

Civil society health organizations gathered to strategize on health priorities ahead of intergovernmental negotiations on the Post-2015 development agenda at the United Nations.

“Tobacco control has a critical role to play in every aspect of sustainable development. Tobacco-related disease robs individuals of years of economic activity, negatively impacting families and economies. This doesn’t just relate to diseases traditionally associated with smoking; tobacco use is the one risk factor common to four major non-communicable diseases – cancers, cardiovascular and lung disease, and diabetes."

A statement regarding a feature story in the New York Times entitled “China’s E-Cigarette Boom Lacks Oversight for Safety”, which reveals real problems with the manufacture of e-cigarettes in China.

World Lung Foundation (WLF) today welcomed a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which found that the CDC's “Tips from Former Smokers” media campaign helped 100,000 smokers to quit and saved about 17,000 people from a premature death in the United States. This underlines the importance of communicating the specific harms of tobacco – whether through media campaigns or graphic pack warnings on cigarettes - in encouraging smokers to quit.

(Nairobi, Kenya and New York, USA) – A national mass media campaign entitled “Tobacco Kills – Quit Now!” is being launched today across Kenya by Dr. Khadijah Kassachoon, the Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Health, to warn people about the harmful effects of smoking tobacco and particularly the harms of second-hand tobacco smoke to the unborn, babies and young children; and to encourage smokers to heed the country’s smoke-free laws and to quit smoking. The Ministry of Health (MoH), with technical and financial support from World Lung Foundation, is undertaking this important mass media campaign, which combines public service announcements (PSAs) on TV and radio and community posters in both Swahili and English.

“The dedication of so many governments, public health professionals, NGOs, researchers and scientists has led to massive progress in the global fight against AIDS. The fact that HIV infections in children under 15 have reduced by 58 percent since 2001 is a brilliant achievement. And the number of AIDS-related deaths has fallen by 35 percent since the peak in 2005.

November 28, 2014, New York, USA) – The Beijing Municipal People’s Congress has made Beijing the world’s largest smokefree city. The Congress passed a ban on smoking in indoor public places, in some outdoor public places and on public transport.

The Government of Kigoma reported promising initial results of Thamini Uhai (Value Life), a radio and community outreach campaign launched in October, aimed at increasing the number of women delivering their babies in health facilities. Delivering at a health facility is the best way of ensuring the health of mothers and babies.

(Hanoi, Vietnam) – Today, the Vietnam Steering Committee on Smoking and Health (VINACOSH) launched a new national mass media campaign to call for high tobacco taxes that would help to deter Vietnamese youth from starting to smoke.

Sunita, which was launched in August by the Honorable Union Minister of Health, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, is now being broadcast to people across India. The 30-second Public Service Announcement (PSA) has been translated into 17 languages .