Health Promotion
We work to enhance people’s wellbeing and reduce their health risks associated with tobacco use, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity, thereby contributing to better population health. We develop and implement cross-cutting normative, fiscal and legal measures and capacity development tools. We advance global health in health literacy, community engagement strategies and good governance for health, and foster public health action in the settings of every-day life.
Integrating tobacco control across sectors
| To ensure maximum impact of tobacco control measures, it is often necessary to consider the needs of specific populations, characteristics that may lead them to initiate and continue to use tobacco, as well as the most effective interventions to promote cessation. Since most tobacco use starts before the age of 18, it is important to consider how specific policies and strategies will impact youth initiation. In many countries, women are increasingly targeted by the tobacco industry and tobacco can take a disproportionate toll on certain communities and groups, such as native populations, as well as people from low socio-economic classes. Age, gender and community-specific characteristics are therefore important to consider when designing policies, anti-tobacco messages and other interventions. Understanding the environmental impact of tobacco is also important, as it allows us to gauge some of the risks caused by tobacco production which are currently excluded from estimates of tobacco mortality (such as poor air quality and pesticide use), and its impact more broadly on development – including economic stability, food security, and gender equality. Recognizing the harmful impact of tobacco in terms of indoor pollution and on biodiversity turns tobacco from an issue of individual well-being to one of global well-being. |
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