World No Tobacco Day 2004 - Tobacco and Poverty: a Vicious Cycle

Every year on May 31st, the World Health Organization (WHO) sponsors World No Tobacco Day in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use worldwide. The thrust of this year's campaign focuses on an area that has been largely ignored up to now: how tobacco use contributes to and increases poverty.

'Tobacco is the fourth most common risk factor for disease worldwide. The economic costs of tobacco use are equally devastating. In addition to the high public health costs of treating tobacco-caused diseases, tobacco kills people at the height of their productivity, depriving families of breadwinners and nations of a healthy workforce. Tobacco users are also less productive while they are alive due to increased sickness. A 1994 report estimated that the use of tobacco resulted in an annual global net loss of US$ 200 thousand million, a third of this loss being in developing countries.'