World No Tobacco Day 2005
Health professionals against tobacco

Theme

World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2005 focuses on the role of health professionals in tobacco control. Health professionals have a prominent role to play in tobacco control as they have the trust of the population, the media and opinion leaders, and their voices are heard across a vast range of social, economic and political arenas.

At the individual level, they can educate the population on the harms of tobacco use and exposure to second hand smoke. They can also help tobacco users overcome their addiction. At the community level, health professionals can be initiators or supporters of some of the policy measures described above, by engaging, for example, in efforts to promote smoke free workplaces and extending the availability of tobacco cessation resources. At the society level, health professionals can add their voice and their weight to national and global tobacco control efforts like tax increase campaigns and become involved at the national level in promoting the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).

More on health professionals at www.who.int/tobacco/health_professionals

In addition, health professional organizations can show leadership and become a role model for other professional organizations and society by embracing the tenants of the Health Professional Code of Practice on Tobacco Control.

More on the code of practice at www.who.int/tobacco/codeofpractice