May 31 is World No Tobacco Day

Arlene Silva
2001-05-31

�Second-hand smoke kills. Let�s clear the air.�

World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) will be observed this year on Thursday, May 31. Established in 1988, WNTD is the only global event dedicated to raising awareness about the public health dangers of smoking and tobacco use, as well as to reducing the number of individual addictions.

This year�s campaign focuses on the dangers of second-hand smoke. According to the World Health Organization, second-hand smoking has been causally associated with a range of life-threatening health effects, including lung cancer and heart disease. In children, involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke has been identified as a cause of respiratory disease, middle ear disease, asthma attacks, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Tobacco smoke is also an important source of indoor air pollution, contributing to a noxious environment, and causing eye irritation, sore throat, cough, and headache (http://tobacco.who.int/en/advocacy/wntd2001a.html).

For more information on participating in WNTD and quitting tobacco use, please visit the following sites:

World No Tobacco Day
http://world.notobaccoday.org/

World Health Organization
http://tobacco.who.int/en/advocacy/wntd2001a.html

Pan American Health Organization
http://www.paho.org/English/HPP/HPM/TOH/wntd_2001.htm