12 Key Findings from the New Edition of The Tobacco Atlas
March 8, 2018Learn about the physical, social, and economic harms of tobacco and about evidence-based solutions to advance toward a tobacco-free world in these highlights from our Tobacco Atlas. The 6th edition of the book and companion website was produced by the American Cancer Society and Vital Strategies.
<p>The 6th edition of <i>The Tobacco Atlas</i> has arrived online and in print. Since 2002 when the 1st edition was published, overall global tobacco use has finally started to decline. Yet, some countries and sub-populations continue to see increases. Africa, for instance, according to the authors of <i>The Tobacco Atlas</i> is a principal target of the tobacco industry’s vigorous efforts to recruit new users. That’s why the 2018 World Conference on Tobacco or Health is being held in South Africa, where Jeffrey Drope, PhD, Vice President of Economic and Health Policy Research at The American Cancer Society and some of his research team will launch this edition. <a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/" target="_blank">Check out the new and improved Tobacco Atlas web site.</a><br>
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<p>In Russia, 50% or more males age 10 or older smoke every day, and 10% or more females age 10 and older do. Not surprisingly, Russia, is also an area where 25% or more male deaths are attributed to tobacco. <a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/prevalence/" target="_blank">See how other countries stack up. </a><br>
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<p>Tobacco tax increases that result in higher tobacco-product prices are among the most effective tobacco control measures available, according to <i>The Tobacco Atlas.</i> Research shows that a 10% increase in cigarette prices reduces smoking between 2% and 8%. The authors note that higher prices are especially effective in reducing tobacco use in more vulnerable populations, like youth and people with lower incomes, because those groups are particularly sensitive to price increases. <a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/societal-harms" target="_blank">Learn more about the economic cost of smoking.</a> </p>
<p>Research shows using only tobacco taxes, countries could realistically achieve the World Health Organization (WHO) target of a 30% relative reduction in smoking prevalence across the globe. Unfortunately, most of the world, predominantly its poorer parts, still lags in implementing high tobacco taxes. The WHO recommends a tax at or above 75% of the retail cigarette price. For example, if a pack of cigarettes costs $5.00, the tax would be $3.75, for a total cost of $8.75/pack. If we met the WHO’s goal, we would prevent 38 million premature deaths from smoking. <a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/taxes/" target="_blank">See how tax increases affect cigarette smuggling.</a><br>
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<p>Research predicts that smoking will greatly increase deaths around the world from tuberculosis in the coming decades. Tobacco also worsens mental illness, HIV infection, and alcohol abuse. <a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/health-effects" target="_blank">Check out the graphic to learn how smoking affects your health from head to toe. </a> <br>
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<p>Research shows too few examples of successful population-level quitting strategies. One high achieving country, though, is Lebanon. They train primary healthcare workers to give brief advice about quitting and are trying to fast-track the licensing and import of affordable quitting medicines. <a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/industry-strategies" target="_blank">Learn how countries help stop the influence of the tobacco industry.</a> <br>
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<p>Years ago, Senegal ran a national “Sponge” mass media campaign that prompted a near 600% increase in calls to the quit line compared to the pre-campaign period. The ad compared the human lung to a sponge. This picture shows how much cancer-producing tar an average smoker could squeeze out a lung after 1 year of smoking. Research consistently demonstrates that campaigns that challenge audiences to deal with the specific negative impacts of smoking are effective. <a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/media-campaigns" target="_blank">See how social media can help with tobacco control.</a></p>
<p>Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable deaths from <span>cancer , with lung cancer causing the most deaths in both women and men in the US. </span><a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/deaths" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255,255,255);">Check out the graphic</a><span> of how using tobacco contributes to most of the other leading causes of death in the world.</span></p>
<p>Research is still inconclusive about whether e-cigarettes help smokers transition away from combusted tobacco, lure ex-smokers back to nicotine, are a gateway to smoking tobacco for youths, or are less harmful than tobacco cigarettes. The evidence suggests that using the current type of e-cigarette is less harmful than using conventional cigarettes. Yet, researchers can not yet evaluate the long-term harm from e-cigarettes. Evidence also suggests a strong association between youths who start using e-cigarettes (and similar products) and their likelihood to eventually use cigarettes. <a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/regulating-novel-products" target="_blank">See a map of e-cigarette availability throughout the world. </a><br>
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<p>Following the steps to reduce demand for cigarettes – like adding warning labels, banning advertising, and having smoke-free policies – typically leads to considerable reduction in disease and mortality from tobacco. <a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/global-strategy" target="_blank">Learn more. </a><br>
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<p>Researchers can help build evidence for measures that control harm from tobacco. But there’s no substitute for the weight of government action when it comes to implementing proven measures to reduce tobacco-related disease and death, according to <i>The Tobacco Atlas. </i><a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/countering-the-industry" target="_blank">Learn how society can pressure governments to redouble their efforts to save millions of lives from the scourge of tobacco use.</a><br>
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<p>According to <i>The Tobacco Atlas,</i> smoking causes a decade of life lost, but quitting before the age of 40 can essentially return 9 of those years on average. Quitting by that age reduces a former smoker’s chance of death from tobacco-related illness by 90%. No matter how old you are when you quit, the payoff is huge. <a href="http://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/quitting" target="_blank">See how quitting benefits your health, starting within 20 minutes after your last cigarette. </a><br>
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