Tobacco Control
Tobacco remains the greatest source of preventable death and disease worldwide, killing over 7 million people annually. Vital Strategies partners with governments and organizations to enact and implement evidence-based, lifesaving policies to reduce tobacco use and counter industry efforts to undermine public health.
We’ve helped 68 countries implement tobacco control policies and counter industry interference through our comprehensive Tobacco Control Grants Program.
We’ve trained over 34,000 stakeholders in tobacco control law enforcement through our Global Implementation Program.
We’ve supported over 450 strategic media campaigns across 44 countries — shifting public attitudes and building support for lifesaving policies such as a tax increase on tobacco in India and national smoke-free legislation in Mexico.
More than 375 cities and districts in Indonesia have passed smoke-free laws or policies, largely as a result of Vital’s campaigns and technical support to local governments.
Why It Matters
Tobacco use is linked to cancer, heart and lung disease, and diabetes, among other noncommunicable diseases. It causes health harms not only to smokers themselves but to the people around them. It costs governments $2 trillion annually, killing people at the peak of their wage-earning capacity, imposing economic burdens on families and deepening poverty in many countries.
How We Work
We partner with governments to implement evidence-based tobacco control policies aligned with global best practices. Our work focuses on population-level impact and long-term, sustainable change.
Vital Strategies works with governments and civil society organizations to implement proven tobacco control policies. Our work is guided by the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the MPOWER package of evidence-based measures, which together represent the most effective approaches to reducing tobacco use at the population level.
We provide technical and financial assistance to governments to adopt best-practice policies to reduce tobacco use and support implementation once those measures are adopted. This includes advancing policies such as smoke-free laws, tobacco taxes, advertising restrictions and health warnings, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where the vast majority of tobacco-related deaths occur. We also partner with governments to implement evidence-based tobacco cessation services at scale.
Strategic communication is also central to our approach. Through mass media campaigns and public engagement, we aim to encourage quitting, delay initiation among young people and build public support for tobacco control policies. Over time, this work helps shift social norms around the acceptability of smoking and strengthens understanding of the tobacco industry’s role in driving harm. We also collaborate with partners to expose industry tactics designed to undermine public health policies and evade regulation. We are a lead partner in a global tobacco industry watchdog that monitors, exposes and counters tobacco industry efforts to undermine public health.
Vital’s Behavioral Insights Lab enhances this work. The lab combines behavioral science, message testing, audience research, digital media monitoring and policy analysis to understand how people and institutions respond to tobacco control measures. These insights help governments and advocates design policies that are not only evidence-based, but politically feasible, enforceable and sustainable.
Grants
Vital Strategies administers a grants program for the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use. There are three granting functions. Read more about them here:
Areas of Focus
We focus on the core approaches proven to reduce tobacco use and protect public health. These focus areas reflect where evidence shows the greatest potential for population-level impact.
Tobacco Control Implementation Hub
The Tobacco Control Implementation Hub provides practical tools, guidance, evidence, and expert support for government agencies and public health organizations to improve tobacco control and enforcement.
Vital Media Studio
We use our strategic communication expertise to carry out evidence-based campaigns across public health issues, including tobacco control.
More Tobacco Control Resources
Tobacco Atlas
A guide of the global tobacco epidemic, tracking use, its toll on health and economies, and the industry tactics behind it.
Learn MoreSmoke-Free Environments
Strong smoke-free laws protect people from secondhand smoke in public spaces and workplaces.
Learn MoreTobacco and Nicotine Packaging Guidance
Health warnings and plain packaging put a product’s risks in plain sight.
Learn MoreTobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship (TAPS) Bans
Comprehensive bans stop the industry from marketing its way to new customers.
Learn MoreIndustry Conflict of Interest Guidelines (Article 5.3)
Article 5.3 shields health policy from tobacco industry interference.
Learn MoreStrengthening the Tobacco Cessation Ecosystem
Cessation services work best when built into health systems, backed by steady funding and strong policy.
Learn MoreIndex of Tobacco Control Sustainability
Data evaluating the sustainability of national tobacco control programs.
Learn MoreSTOP – Exposing Tobacco
STOP is a network of academic and public health organizations operating globally as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.
Learn MoreCanary!
Canary uses AI to analyze content at scale in real time, detecting tactics used to hook or harm young people and identifying misinformation shaping health behaviors.
Learn more
