ABSTRACT
Tobacco use is the leading fully preventable cause of mortality globally. Of the nearly nine million of deaths caused by tobacco use, 37% are attributable to cardiovascular diseases, 30% to cancer, 21% to chronic respiratory diseases and 7% to respiratory infections. While the global disease burden related to tobacco use is still increasing in many countries, partly due to population growth, age-standardized mortality due to tobacco use is decreasing in most countries, as a result of decreasing prevalence of smokers owing to implementation, to various extents in different countries, of comprehensive tobacco control policies. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the WHO MPOWER package encapsulate the main measures available to reduce tobacco use. This chapter describes the main measures to reduce tobacco use, which can act to decrease the demand for tobacco products (such as a high tax on tobacco products, a ban on advertising promotion and sponsorship, a ban on tobacco use in indoor and other premises, graphic health warnings, etc.) or to decrease the supply (a ban of sales to minors, illicit trade, restrictions on sales, etc.). Interventions at the individual level are also available including counselling and nicotine replacement therapy. The significance of electronic cigarettes is also briefly described.
