Tobacco is unique. It is the only consumer product that,
when used exactly as intended, kills its consumers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates
that 1 billion people will die this century if action is not taken.
Currently, about 6 million people per year are killed by
tobacco, and most of these deaths occur in low-income
countries, where many people are already at risk from other
diseases.1,8 A 2013 United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) report states that by 2030, 70% of tobacco-related
deaths will be in low- and middle-income countries and that
in every region of the world, lower-income groups are more
likely to use tobacco.2
Not only is tobacco the second leading health risk factor
globally behind high blood pressure3
, but it also robs families
of financial resources that would otherwise go toward
shelter, food, education and health care.2 Tobacco use
heightens poverty within households and reduces
productivity at the national level. Having a tobacco-related
disease will hinder the main wage earner's ability to work,
which in turn reduces household wages and drives the family
further into poverty.2 Additionally, tobacco farming
undermines food security and environmental sustainability
as about 90% of tobacco is grown in tropical dry forest and
woodland areas in low-income countries that have high
population densities and that are experiencing high
biodiversity loss. Tobacco as a mono-crop depletes soil
nutrients at a much faster rate than other crops.4 It can also
impoverish some tobacco farmers who find themselves in
bonded labour contractual arrangements that leave them
trapped in a vicious circle of debt, resulting in poverty or
situations where children as young as five years of age are
used in tobacco farming, contravening basic human rights and
labour conventions.5
Tobacco is the single greatest preventable cause of death in
the world today.1 This has been recognized at the highest
levels. The global community responded vigorously to the
tobacco epidemic, by adopting the world's first modern-day
public health treaty, the WHO Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003. The FCTC now has 177
Parties representing 88% of global population. A decade
later, we are starting to see the fruits of the FCTC in a number
of countries. In 2011, the second-ever United Nations health
summit adopted a political declaration on non-communicable
diseases (NCDs*), for which tobacco is a leading risk factor,
which calls for an accelerated implementation of the FCTC.
As a consequence, the World Health Assembly has adopted a
Global Action Plan for the prevention and control of NCDs
which also calls for an accelerated implementation of the
ONE BILLION DEATHS: TIME TO
TAKE THE GLOBAL TOBACCO
CONTROL TREATY SERIOUSLY
LAURENT HUBER, DIRECTOR, FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ALLIANCE, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is the
governments' response to the global tobacco epidemic and a blueprint for preventing one
billion deaths this century. However, implementation in the ten years since its adoption has
been sporadic, in part due to lack of whole-of-government engagement and inadequate
resources. Ending this epidemic will require a harmonized approach that incorporates local,
national, regional and global law as well as international trade, finance, health and
development processes.
RISK FACTORS
40 CANCER CONTROL 2014
*The four main groups of NCDs are: cancers, cardiovascular
diseases, chronic lung disease and diabetes.