DUSHANBE, May 31, 2011, Asia-Plus — World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world on May 31. It is meant to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption across the globe.
The day is further intended to draw global attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects, which currently lead to some 6 million deaths worldwide annually.
The member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) in 1987.
According to WHO, the overwhelming majority of smokers – some 80 percent – live in the low-income and middle-income countries.
Press release issued by WHO notes the evidence shows that tobacco-controlled legislation is working. Confounding its early critics, it is already saving lives and improving health across the WHO European Region. Studies from countries that enforce bans on smoking in public places are finding reductions in heart attacks. Exposure to tobacco smoke contributes to cardiovascular diseases, cancer and tuberculosis, and the scientific literature indicates that, just a few months after the implementation of smoke-free laws, the hospitalization rates for myocardial infarctions decrease by 20–40%.
“This is legislation that is really working,” said Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “It is working for the public and for the health system. Where the laws are enforced, we are seeing not only better health for people but also rapid and significant reductions in hospital admissions, which must mean lower costs for health systems.”
The key message of World No Tobacco Day, 31 May 2011, is the need for countries to ratify and fully implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco smoke. In the WHO European Region, 46 countries and the European Community have ratified the treaty.
In Tajikistan, the tobacco-controlled legislation – The Law on Limited Use of Tobacco – came into effect on January 1, 2011. Under this law, sale of tobacco and smoking in schools, hospitals, organizations and enterprises irrespective of forms of their property, airports, train stations, recreation areas, sports and culture facilities and in public transport is banned. Additionally, sale of tobacco closer than 100 meters to kindergartens, schools, hospitals and other educational and healthcare institutions is banned. The law also bans sale of tobacco to and by teenagers.
In late July 2010, President Emomali Rahmon suggested to limit sale and use tobacco goods in all governmental and non-governmental institutions. Smokers now have to use special places.
Those who break the law will have to pay a fine from 5 to 15 indexes (where one index makes 35 somoni) for natural persons and from 3 to 300 indexes for legal entities.
