World No Tobacco Day is celebrated on 31st May every year throughout the world. World No Tobacco Day was created in 1987 by the member states of the World Health Organization (WHO). It was created to draw attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death as well as disease it causes.
Why celebrated?
It is celebrated with an intention to create awareness and encourage people to reduce or completely stop the tobacco consumption in any form throughout the world.
It is also celebrated with an aim to draw public attention throughout the world to spread the message of harmful effects of tobacco use and its complications to others.
What is tobacco?
Tobacco is a product prepared from the leaves of the tobacco plant by curing them. Tobacco is most commonly used to make cigarettes. It is grown almost all over the world. It supports a billion dollar industry.
The tobacco plant is a part of genus Nicotiana and of the Solanaceae family. There are more than 70 species of tobacco known, but the chief commercial crop is N.rustica. The more potent variant N.rustica is also used around the world. Tobacco is used in the form of cigars, cigarettes, bidis, khainis (chewing tobacco) etc.
The psycho active ingredient of tobacco is nicotine. This is a stimulant. Cigarette contains more than 4000 chemicals. Out of these, 2000 of them are known to be poisonous.
Something more on No Tobacco Day :
- This year 2019 the focus on world no tobacco day is on “Tobacco and lung health”. This day is intended to encourage people to abstain themselves for a period of 24-hour from all forms of tobacco consumption around the world.
- The campaign for this year is “Don’t let tobacco take your breath away”.
- The campaign also intended to draw attention to the negative health effects of tobacco throughout the world.
- The campaign is intended to increase awareness on…
- The negative impact tobacco has on people’s lung health.
- The impact it has from cancer to chronic respiratory disease.
- The important role or fundamental lungs play for the health and well-being of all people.
- The campaign for awareness would serve as a call to action, advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.
- To engage stakeholders in various sectors to fight for tobacco control.
- The tobacco causes worldwide death of more than 7 million each year.
- One of the biggest tragedy is that out of the 7 million deaths every year 8,90,000 deaths are due to second hand smoking or passive smoking.
Various themes of world no tobacco day from 2010-2019 :
2010 – “Gender and Tobacco with an emphasis on marketing of women”.
2011 – “The WHO Framework Convention on tobacco control”.
2012 – “Tobacco Industry Interference”.
2013 – “Ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship”.
2014 – “Raise taxation on tobacco”.
2015 – “Stop illicit trade of tobacco products”.
2016 – “Get ready for plain packaging”.
2017 – “Tobacco – a threat to development”.
2018 – “Tobacco and heart disease”.
2019 – “Tobacco and lung health”.
Conclusion :
Let us conclude with a few quotes on tobacco and cigarette.
Quotes:
- The true face of smoking is disease, death and horror – not the glamour and sophistication the pushers in the tobacco industry portray. …DAVID BYRNE.
- Tobacco is the only industry that produces products to make huge profits and at the same time damage the health and kill their consumers. …MARGARET CHAN.
- Tobacco smoke contains chemicals that weaken the body’s immune system, making it more susceptible to disease and handicapping its ability to destroy cancer cells. …MICHAEL GREGER.
- Cigars, cigarettes and hookah tobacco are all smoked tobacco – addictive and deadly. We need effective action to protect our kids from struggling with life-long addiction to nicotine. …TOM FRIEDEN.
- A lot of people in my life are getting sick or potentially are going to get sick from tobacco. …JEREMY LERDEN.
- Smoking leaves an unseen scar; it fills your insides with toxins and tar. …THE FRESH QUOTES.
- Put it out before it puts you out. …THE FRESH QUOTES.
- Giving up tobacco is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I have done it thousands of times. …MARK TWAIN.
- Cigarettes burn holes in your pocket. …THE FRESH QUOTES.
- The best way to stop smoking is to just stop – no ifs, ands or buts. …EDITH ZITTLER.
- Cigarettes are killers travelling in packs. …UNKNOWN.
- Everyone has the right to clean air. …THE FRESH QUOTES.
- Do you mind if I smoke? (Oscar Wilde to Sarah Barnhardt). I don’t care if you burn. …SARAH BARNHARDT.
- Tobacco companies kill their best customers. …THE FRESH QUOTES.
- If we lose the battle against tobacco, we will lose the war against cancer. …UNKNOWN.
- . Cigarette : A fire at one end, a fool at the other, and a bit of tobacco in between. …UNKNOWN.