Tobacco addiction is a global epidemic that is rapidly spreading and increasing disability, disease, lost productivity, and mortality. Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world and the fourth most common risk factor for disease worldwide. It kills 4.9 million persons each year, which is equivalent to one in ten adult deaths worldwide. This trend is rendered even more alarming when looking at the projections showing that the number of deaths will double in the next twenty years.
During the 1988 IPSF Congress in Helsinki , Finland , IPSF officially launched the Tobacco Alert Campaign. This followed the 1987 proactive action of the World Health Organization (WHO) to adopt smoking as one of its main targets for action. IPSF elected to implement a campaign aiming to help stop this epidemic in all facets of the population. The campaign has since grown to be one of the most popular initiatives of the federation.
The purpose of World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is to educate the public on the risks of starting smoking and the deadly health consequences of tobacco use. Pharmacists can have a large, positive impact on the campaign in many ways because they are the healthcare professional that patients come into contact with the most.
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Pharmacists can easily provide traditional tobacco use information such as its detrimental health effects and smoking cessation protocols. Although, for the campaign to be maximally effective, it is important to also educate beyond the purely scientific aspects of tobacco risks and cessation. As pharmacists we need to focus on communication skills, psychology, and changing attitudes and behaviours towards tobacco products.
WNTD, as directed by the WHO, occurs annually on May 31 st with a different theme each year. This year's the theme is entitled " Tobacco: deadly in any form or disguise ." The tobacco industry continues to put profits before life, its own expansion before the health of future generations, and its own economic gain ahead of the sustainable development of struggling countries. The theme was selected in order to inform the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what WHO is doing to fight the tobacco epidemic, and what people around the world can do to claim their right to health and healthy living, and to protect future generations.
How did NAPSer mark this day! details 
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