Hats Off to Bill Gates and Mayor Bloomberg!

Many people around the world still think of tobacco use as a bad habit rather than a life-threatening activity. It's important that we change the face of tobacco so that people begin to associate it with disease, addiction and death. Casting tobacco in a negative light through aggressive antismoking campaigns will help us make the shift in consciousness that is needed.

To that end, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have announced their intention to join forces and invest $500 million U.S. dollars to fight the tobacco epidemic in developing countries where tobacco legislation is lacking or nonexistent.

• The Global Tobacco Crisis

I have deep admiration for folks who step outside of themselves to help others. Selfless acts of love and compassion lift us all up. Mayor Bloomberg and Bill and Melinda Gates are shining examples of the best of our human spirit in action. Their caring efforts may well save millions of lives.

Gates, Bloomberg Pledge $500 Million for Antismoking Programs - Wall Street Journal

And speaking of people helping people, if you're a smoker looking for support to quit, stop in and take a look around at our smoking cessation forum here at About.com. This very active community of people quitting tobacco has new members joining daily, and the support is second to none. Browse through and read messages as a guest, or register (free) to post comments of your own.

_{Photo © Chris Hondros/Getty Images}