World No Tobacco Day 2023: Date, History, Theme and Significance

The World Health Organization (WHO) organizes World No Tobacco Day every year on 31st May. Let us understand the importance of this day in this post. 

World No Tobacco Day is observed to educate people about the various risks associated with tobacco consumption and its ill effects on society.  Tobacco is dangerous as it is injurious to health. With the annual celebration of this event, the organizer – WHO – wants to inform the public about the health risks of using tobacco and how and why people should abstain from consuming tobacco in any form.

History of World No Tobacco Day

The World No Tobacco Day was initiated by WHO and its Member States in the year 1987. Tobacco is a global epidemic and a cause of disease and death among people. World No Tobacco Day was started to focus on safeguarding young people from getting trapped by attractive tobacco ads and marketing tactics of tobacco companies so that they can refrain from using nicotine and tobacco.

How to Observe World No Tobacco Day?   

To observe this day WHO sponsors various no tobacco day awareness programs every year to highlight the risks that tobacco can cause to your health. Also, it encourages government authorities to ask tobacco manufacturers to abide by such policies so that it could reduce the consumption of tobacco and related products.

As per WHO reports, over 8 million people die every year because of tobacco consumption. And this number will grow further if the governments across the globe don’t take suitable action against tobacco manufacturers.

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How Tobacco Companies Attract the Youth?

Use of tobacco causes different types of cancers along with other diseases like heart conditions, stroke, lung problems and so on. However, despite that thousands of people get lured by tobacco ads and marketing gimmicks of tobacco companies. Hence, more and more people try to follow others and start consuming tobacco products. Further, new and unique ideas to sell tobacco used by tobacco manufacturers such as e-cigarettes, vaping devices etc., are further trapping people.

WHO is of the view that tobacco companies use different means to appeal to the youth with their products. 

• Some of these include marketing flavoured tobacco. These products come in various flavours like cherry, cotton candy, bubble gum etc.
• Further, they use different designs and shapes to create tobacco such as USB sticks, candies etc., to appeal to the young boys and girls
• Also, tobacco companies make claims like the vaping devices are cleaner and not that harmful as compared to smoking. However, the fact is they don’t have any scientific evidence to prove their claims
• Besides, among the other marketing tactics of the tobacco companies include various endorsements and contests. It also includes the use of paid celebrities as well as influencers to promote these deadly products
• They also set point-of-sale marketing and place tobacco products near sweet and snack shops to make them more visible
• Also, they use the method of showing nicotine and tobacco items in movies, shows etc

Studies have shown that people generally start smoking in their teens and they become addicted to it. And hence, it is very important for young people to stay away from such bad habits.

Importance of World No Tobacco Day? 

As much as 35 lakh hectares of cultivable land is used across the world to grow tobacco crops annually. Tobacco farming is also said to cause over 2 lakh hectares of annual deforestation.

Tobacco production causes more devastation of the ecosystems since these lands lose more biological productivity than growing other crops. Further, the fertilizers and pesticides used for the cultivation of tobacco is also more, which results in reduction of soil fertility.

The World No Tobacco Day is a platform that encourages government authorities to implement policies so that tobacco farming can be stopped and alternative food crops can be grown.

In fact, it is necessary to curb cultivation of tobacco with legislative action and to help farmers to transition from tobacco cultivation to farming of other food crops.

On World No Tobacco Day, WHO strives to achieve the above through different campaigns and activities.

World No Tobacco Day helps in spreading the message among people to stay away from tobacco. Further WHO continuously works towards exposing tobacco companies with their ways to lure people. WHO also encourages celebrities as well as the media and influencers to protect young people from the harmful tobacco by not endorsing these products.

Further, the day encourages social welfare groups and activists to join hands to work towards enhanced efforts to stop the farming of tobacco crops.

Tobacco consumption causes cancer of many body parts like the throat, lungs, oesophagus, larynx, mouth, pancreas and so on. More than a 1 crore people die every year due to tobacco consumption.

World No Tobacco Day 2023 Theme

The theme of 2023 World No Tobacco Day is – ‘We need food, not tobacco’. The theme is picked to convey the message to the tobacco producers to move to alternative farming like food crops so as to control the food crisis.

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Tips to Stop Smoking

Here are some tips that might help people to leave smoking:

• Use therapy to replace nicotine
• Avoiding places like bars where smoking is done openly
• Try to use sugarless gums, candies etc., to resist the craving of tobacco
• Try to distract yourself from people smoking tobacco and move to a smoke-free zones
• Exercise regularly
• Try alternative relaxation techniques

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