GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST TOBACCO
Bloomberg pledges $360m more
Former New York City Mayor and philanthropist Michael R Bloomberg yesterday pledged an additional $360 million to the global fight against tobacco use, bringing his total commitment to nearly $1 billion for this cause. Since its launch 10 years ago, the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco has changed the trajectory of the tobacco epidemic, saving the lives and improving the health of millions of people. It has supported the implementation of proven tobacco control laws and policies in 59 countries, reaching 3.5 billion people and saving an estimated 30 million lives. After rising inexorably, cigarette sales worldwide have finally started to fall.
Tobacco use currently kills six million people worldwide each year. The tobacco industry continues to ruthlessly peddle its deadly and addictive products around the world, especially to children and other vulnerable populations, according to a statement of Matthew L Myers, President of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK).
And the industry continues to fight efforts to reduce tobacco use at every turn. Michael Bloomberg rightly recognises that efforts to reduce tobacco use must be equally aggressive and sustained, it said.
This new commitment will expand and accelerate implementation of proven, evidence-based strategies to reduce tobacco use, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries that will account for 80 percent of the worlds tobacco-related deaths by 2030.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a partner in the Bloomberg Initiative implementing proven measures to reduce tobacco use. Other partners in the Bloomberg Initiative include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation, International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, World Health Organisation and Vital Strategies. The Bloomberg Initiative spans more than 110 countries and has been the catalyst for life-saving change across the globe.
