In a world where nearly 1.3 million deaths each year are caused by passive smoking, Mauritius and the Netherlands have stood out as virtuous examples. In fact, they have succeeded in reducing the negative effects of smoking on the population by creating smoke-free spaces. What is it about? These are areas that protect non-smokers and, at the same time, discourage tobacco consumption. This is what emerges from the latest report by the World Health Organization (WHO), drawn up with the support of the non-profit organization Bloomberg Philanthropies, on the progress of what the body defines as a real epidemic. This year’s report focuses in particular on the efforts and strategies that various countries are implementing to protect individuals from secondhand smoke and discourage the normalization of tobacco consumption.
WHO guidelines
According to WHO, smoking is responsible for the overall death of nearly 9 million people each year and is the leading cause of preventable death. To try to limit the spread of this epidemic and support government action in this fight, WHO introduced six tobacco control strategies in February 2008 under the acronym MPOWER: Monitor Tobacco Use and Progress prevention policies, protecting people from smoking, offering help to quit smoking, educating about the dangers of tobacco, enforcing the ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and raising tobacco taxes.
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Fifteen years after the introduction of MPOWER and twenty years after the adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, it seems that these best practices are contributing to the achievement of a society in which tobacco has less and less space. To date, in fact, 5.6 billion people, equivalent to 71% of the world‘s population, are protected by policies developed in accordance with these guidelines, a number five times higher than in 2007, before their introduction.
Prevention
The ninth WHO report released in recent days focuses on actions to protect the public from exposure to tobacco smoke and reports that almost 40% of countries have bans on smoking in enclosed public spaces in force. Michael R. Bloomberg, WHO global ambassador for noncommunicable diseases and founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies, reminds that anti-smoking laws are essential to protect the population from cancer, heart disease and other fatal effects resulting from its inhalation. They also help smokers quit and discourage others, especially young people, from starting.
For these reasons, smoke-free environments are crucial in guaranteeing all individuals the right to be able to breathe clean air and to be able to protect their health by reducing exposure to secondhand smoke.
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Mauritius and the Netherlands: two success stories
Mauritius and the Netherlands have managed to reach the maximum level of adherence to the measures foreseen by MPOWER. The African state, after having introduced the first bans on smoking in public places and transport in 2008, in 2022 extended the legislation to all external and internal spaces, even including areas within a radius of 10 meters from all the access points to buildings, including the outdoor spaces of restaurants and clubs. To date, the country has pushed the ban on smoking even inside all vehicles when other passengers are present. Through a redefinition and expansion of the concept of public place, the Republic of Mauritius aims to become a completely smoke-free country, as reaffirmed by Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth.
The Netherlands started work on limiting tobacco consumption in the late 1980s through the introduction of smoking bans inside government-owned buildings and on publicly accessible properties. However, special areas for smokers were still planned. Over the years, the imposition of the ban has affected more and more aspects of life and currently also involves all school premises and smoking areas are no longer allowed in any public place, workplace or public transport.
Despite the progress, the Secretary of State for Health, Welfare and Sport, Maarten van Ooyendeclared that there is still a long way to go to truly smoke-free generations but that the goal is to become a smoke-free state by 2040.
How bad are e-cigarettes?
Still many steps forward to make
Brazil and Turkey are the only other two countries that have managed to fully implement all MPOWER strategies to date. There is therefore still a lot of work to be done: 44 countries are not protected by any of the measures and 53 countries still do not have smoking bans in health facilities. Smoking remains the leading cause of death and disease worldwide.
WHO analyzes show that MPOWER interventions save lives and reduce the socioeconomic costs of smoking. According to the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus“The steady progress countries have demonstrated over the years is a testament to what can be achieved when a clear vision of health is combined with global collaboration.”
It is therefore necessary to step up efforts and engage in the fight against tobacco. Now even more, due to the advent of new products such as heated tobacco devices, or devices that provide for the emission of substances, including nicotine, due to electronic systems which, as the WHO points out, present damage to the Health.
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