World Health Organization Region
Year(s) : 2008, 2007
Grant Recipient Type : Government
Grantor : World Lung Foundation
Project goal : To provide technical assistance to achieve the priorities of MPOWER.
Direct Grant : No
Key achievement to date: Achievement of MPOWER goals in target countries.
Objective
1: To monitor tobacco use.
Major
accomplishments to date:
- Brazil: Incorporated the Global
Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) into its national
tobacco surveillance system and translated the
WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008
into Portuguese.
- India: Government
support to convert GATS to a more extended
national survey.
- Turkey: Launch of Turkish-language translation of the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008 sparked considerable media attention.
- Egypt: Incorporated GATS into its national tobacco control surveillance system.
- Pakistan:
Held press conference on MPOWER and released
summaries in Urdu and local
languages.
Objective 2: To protect people
from tobacco smoke.
Major accomplishments to
date:
- Egypt: In 2007, new
tobacco control legislation required all public
places to be smoke-free. A national
training on smoke-free public places was
conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of
Health.
- Pakistan: Comprehensive review conducted of current tobacco control legislation, resulting in a strong recommendation to provide 100% smoke-free public places. National training is under way for the tobacco control technical group.
- Brazil: Smoking ban covers all enclosed public places in northeastern city of Recife.
- Mexico: 100% smoke-free law approved in Mexico City.
- Turkey: Revised national law provides 100% smoke-free public places and workplaces.
- Thailand: Smoke-free places now include all food and drink courts, banquet venues, pubs and bars, air-conditioned private workplaces, and all forms of marketplace.
- India: Revised rules for the prohibition of smoking in public places passed October 2008.
- Uganda: All
indoor workplaces and public places are covered
by a smoking ban.
Objective 3: To offer help to
quit tobacco use.
Major accomplishments to
date:
- Indonesia: New tobacco cessation centers in hospitals and private practice clinics.
- India:
Tobacco cessation is a major component of a
pilot national tobacco control program.
- Nepal: Cessation advice provided through national tuberculosis program.
- China: Smoking cessation program part of the Olympic activity schedule. New cessation guidelines distributed at smoke-free hospital seminar.
- Philippines: PhilHealth outpatient benefit package covers counseling for smoking cessation services in rural health units and municipal health offices.
- Russian Federation: Training workshop for physicians supported by the Ministry of Health.
- Turkey: Smoking
cessation a major component of the National
Action Plan for Tobacco Control.
- Iran: Extensive cessation training, with more than 100 cessation centers set up.
- Egypt: Officials from two governorates were provided with training on cessation services. A mission for evaluating cessation services is under way.
- Ghana:
Training workshops on cessation counseling
services in 12 health facilities.
- Nigeria: Blood pressure monitors given to primary health care providers to encourage them to include cessation support in health treatment.
- South Africa: Access
to toll-free quit line available, as well as
nicotine replacement therapy. Smoking cessation
support is available in primary health care
facilities and hospitals.
Objective 4: To warn about the
dangers of tobacco.
Major accomplishments to
date:
- Mexico: New federal law mandates health warnings on cigarette packages that cover 65% of total surface (including a 30% front-surface pictogram) and bans misleading descriptors "light" and "low-tar."
- Brazil: New set of health
warnings presented on World No Tobacco Day
2008.
- Vietnam: New regulation on
tobacco health warnings took effect on April 1,
2008.
- Egypt: Pictorial health warnings covering 50% of the front and back of cigarette packs in place since August 2008.
- Pakistan: Strong recommendations adopted in January 2009 by technical groups to implement pictorial health warnings.
- India: Pictorial health warnings are available on the official Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website (implementation of warnings deferred until May 31, 2009).
- Eritrea: Fifty percent of
principal display areas covered by rotating
health warnings in the local
language.
- Russian Federation: New health warnings on tobacco products packages to cover not less than 30% of principal display area and not less than 50% of secondary display area.
Objective 5: To enforce bans on
advertising, promotion and
sponsorship.
Major accomplishments to
date:
- India: Public notice on bans of all forms of advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco was published in leading national and regional dailies. Committees set up at national, state and district levels to monitor violations.
- Mexico: Extensive, but not
complete, ban on advertising, promotion and
sponsorship was
approved.
- Philippines: Ban on all
forms of mass media tobacco advertising,
including printed materials.
- Bangladesh: Month-long World No Tobacco Day campaign focused on advertising bans. Mobile courts enforce bans at district level.
- Thailand: Law-enforcement training to strengthen enforcement at provincial level.
- Ukraine: Outdoor tobacco advertising ban has been enforced since January 2009.
- Madagascar: Ban on all
forms of advertising, promotion and sponsorship
is enforced.
Objective 6: To raise taxes on
tobacco products.
Major accomplishments to
date:
- India: Government is raising taxes on tobacco products progressively every year. In 2007-2008, excise duty on cigarettes increased by 5%. Taxes on bidis and chewing tobacco products also increased in 2008.
- Indonesia:
Simplified tax structure to achieve one excise
value for all types of cigarettes by 2015.
Tobacco excise taxes on cigarettes raised by an
average of 17%.
- Vietnam: Raised
tobacco excise taxes to 65% of the factory
price, from 55%.
- Poland: Parliament-approved tax increases on tobacco products effective March 2009, including a 52% increase for cigarettes, and an ad valorem excise increase of 18%.
- Ukraine: Tobacco taxes were raised twice in 2008, providing approximately US$ 120 million in government revenues.
- Seychelles: Excise tobacco tax represents 79% of tobacco price.
- Pakistan: Government technical advisory group adopted WHO report that calls for taxation increase.
- Egypt:
2007 legislation on tobacco control called on
government to increase taxation.