Each year
5.4 million people die because of smoking and other forms of
tobacco consumption -- That's a preventable death every eight
seconds!
Since 1989,
the World Health Organization has coordinated World No Tobacco
Day on May 31, calling for a 24 hour period of abstinence from
using tobacco products. In addition to providing moral support
to try to quit for people who smoke, the day is an opportunity
for individuals and organizations to promote awareness education
and events that will help inspire people to quit smoking, or
never to start.
Tobacco
products come from the leaves of the nicotiana plant.
Used in spiritual ceremonies by Native Americans for hundreds
of years, tobacco was brought to Europe in 1559 by Jean Nicot,
the French Ambassador to Portugal. It wasn't long before it
was being used all over Europe, and over the centuries became
popular around the world.
As medical
research began to more clearly discover risk factors for diseases,
it became clear that tobacco use increases the chances for many
different diseases, including emphysema, heart attacks, strokes
and many types of cancer. Because researchers found that second-hand
smoke can also cause severe health problems for people who don't
even use tobacco themselves, many anti-smoking campaigns arose
over the years to convince legislators to ban cigarette smoking
in public places. Today, laws preventing cigarette smoking in
public places exist in many cities all across the country and
around the world.
Links
World
No Tobacco Day
Altrius
Directory: History of World No Tobacco Day
TimeAndDate.com:
World No Tobacco Day
Students Working
Against Tobacco
QUIT
SMOKING QUOTES
