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Overview

Tobacco kills: It shouldn’t be advertised, glamorized or subsidized

WHO has selected “Tobacco-free films and entertainment” as the theme for World No Tobacco Day 2003 to highlight how the tobacco industry uses the entertainment industry to:

directly and indirectly promote its products

appeal to young people

spread the deadly and debilitating tobacco epidemic

circumvent tobacco control laws and regulations.

Tobacco is the only legal consumer product that kills when used exactly as intended by the manufacturer. World No Tobacco Day will help to save more lives and to limit the damage caused by tobacco use.

The key messages of this year’s World No Tobacco Day are:

The tobacco industry exploits the entertainment industry.

Young people are being lured to addiction through glamour and appeal.

Film stars and celebrities should stop the direct and indirect marketing of tobacco products.

The entertainment industry should strive to regulate the explicit use of tobacco products on screens.

All countries have a moral obligation to ratify and fully implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to save lives.

Overview

Tobacco-free sports: Towards a tobacco-free generation

WHO has selected “Tobacco-free sports” as the theme for World No Tobacco Day 2002 to:

expose how tobacco companies manipulate sporting events and teams through advertising, sponsorship and promotion

show how tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion run counter to the ideals of health and fair play embodied in sports

stress that tobacco use negatively affects health, sporting performance and physical fitness

demonstrate how the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) will seek global and national solutions for tobacco-related problems.

Tobacco is the only legal consumer product that kills when used exactly as intended by the manufacturer. World No Tobacco Day will help to save more lives and to limit the damage caused by tobacco use.

The key messages of this year’s World No Tobacco Day are:

Tobacco and sports do not mix.

Tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion should be banned.

Tobacco consumption and exposure to second-hand smoke should be prohibited.

Future generations must be protected from the preventable death and disease caused by tobacco.

Health and healthy living is everyone’s right.

All countries have a moral obligation to adopt the WHO FCTC to save lives.

Advocacy materials

Regional Director’s message

Flyer.

English | French

Image of the World No Tobacco Day 2007 poster, showing a café with a smoke-free environment.

Poster [Café]

Image of the World No Tobacco Day 2007 poster, showing a car repair workshop with a smoke-free environment.

Poster [Workshop]

Awards

Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) presents awards to key people and/or organizations that have made valuable contributions to tobacco control and have helped make World No Tobacco Day and its theme a great success. These awards are an expression of WHO's appreciation of the great time and effort that these contributors have invested in the campaigns, as well as in fighting tobacco.

This year, six World No Tobacco Day awards were presented to:

Dr Mariam Al-Jalahma, Assistant Undersecretary for Primary Care and Public Health, Bahrain

Dr Hamdy El Sayed, Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Head of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, Egypt

Dr Alireza Mesdaghinia, Deputy for Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Islamic Republic of Iran

Mrs Mawya Zawawi Hammad, Founder and General Director, Lina and Green Hand Society, Jordan

Dr Jawad Ahmed Al Lawati, Director of Non-Communicable Diseases Department, Ministry of Health, Oman

Dr Alaa Aldeen Abdalla Abo Zed, Associated Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum University, Sudan

These individuals are strong tobacco control advocates and have actively contributed to various tobacco control-related activities at national level, particularly the implementation of tobacco control laws. Their role in advancing and implementing specific articles of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has been instrumental.

Advocacy materials