News
World Lung Foundation Receives Funds As A Partner in Michael Bloomberg's $125 Million Initiative to Promote Freedom From Smoking
November 2, 2006
Economic Reports
Click here to review a series of reports on tobacco taxation funded by the Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to reduce tobacco use..
Since its inception in 2005, WLF has initiated strategic alliances that have made it a leader in the global fights against tobacco and tuberculosis, two epidemics that account for nearly 7 million avoidable deaths every year.
"We have the proven means to reduce tobacco use, but policy makers are not yet applying these interventions," said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "This initiative isn't just for the 20% of the world's population who smoke but also for the 80% who don't."
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Non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke, such as that in this English pub, have a 20% to 30% increased risk of lung cancer. The creation of smoke-free restaurants, pubs, and other workplaces is a key objective of international tobacco control policy advocacy.
World Lung Foundation Board President James de Viel Castel underlined the historic nature of this initiative. "The tobacco epidemic is being transferred from developed to developing countries, which are least able to bear the economic burden. The Michael Bloomberg donation more than doubles the funding for tobacco control in developing countries. WLF and partner efforts will facilitate the implementation of evidence-based policies in the most affected countries, saving millions of lives and reducing poverty."
The $125 million initiative includes five key organizations to implement a multi-sectoral program that will help low- and middle-income countries to make progress toward being tobacco-free. They include the World Lung Foundation, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the World Health Organization.
The key components of the initiative are to:
- Refine and optimize tobacco control programs to help smokers quit and prevent children from starting.
- Support public sector efforts to pass and enforce key laws and implement effective policies, in particular to tax cigarettes, prevent smuggling, change the image of tobacco, and protect workers from exposure to other peoples' smoke.
- Support advocates' efforts to educate communities about the harms of tobacco and to enhance control activities so as to help make the world tobacco-free.
- Develop a rigorous system to monitor the status of global tobacco use.
WLF will work with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease and the World Health Organization.
Efforts will be focused on low and middle income countries with high tobacco burdens. In these countries, between 10% and 25% of all deaths of men over 35 are due to tobacco use.
Governments and non-governmental organizations in these countries cannot work alone; only collaboration and information sharing can counter tobacco-company lobbying and poor knowledge about the dangers of smoking. To foster cooperation, the World Lung Foundation will support the Framework Convention Alliance, an international coalition of over 260 organizations undertaking advocacy.
The World Lung Foundation has obtained expertise and policy acumen through the recent hiring of Dr. Judith Mackay as Project Coordinator. Dr. Mackay has extensive experience mobilizing governmental and non-governmental partners. She was previously a senior policy advisor at WHO and Director of the Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control. Dr. Mackay believes that "the Bloomberg project will make a vast difference by enhancing tobacco control efforts in developing countries. The activities are practical, and focus on results."
For more information, please contact: foundation@worldlungfoundation.org