Did you know?
- Every second one person dies from a tobacco-related disease.
- In the United States, over 20% of all deaths are from tobacco.
- Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical.
- In the 20th century 100 million deaths were caused by tobacco. In the 21st century tobacco-related death has reached an estimated 1 billion.
Despite all the death by tobacco consumption, the tobacco industry is flourishing every single day. In 2010 alone the revenue earned by the tobacco industry was $664 billion. This is more than the GDP of all but 18 nations in the world. But what is worst that trade of tobacco products is the illicit trading that doesn’t only raise concern on health, but also economy, legislations, governance and corruption. According to various studies, the illicit tobacco trade market accounts for around one in every 10 cigarettes consumed globally. And it is not just the economic threat such trade possess that should concern us. The reason why we should be fighting illicit trade of tobacco product has to do with the fact that such products hook young people into tobacco use because they are cheaper. The illegal tobacco trade robs the government from the tax revenue that could have been used in public service and education. So, while there is a lot of wrong in consumption and production of tobacco itself, we should also be worried about the harms that illegal trade of tobacco causes.
Hence, this World No Tobacco Day, 31 May 2015 WHO (World Health Organization) and partners are “calling on countries to work together to end the illicit trade of tobacco products.” Join in the fight and make a difference.
