World No Tobacco Day 2019
Every year on May 31, WHO and its global partner organizations celebrate World No Tobacco Day (WNTD). In 2019, its focus theme is "Tobacco use and lung health".
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Active and passive smoking increase the risk for a variety of diseases. Thus, active and passive smoking have multiple effects on people's lung health:
- Lung cancer: smoking accounts for more than two-thirds of all lung cancer deaths worldwide, and passive smoking increases the risk of lung cancer even in nonsmokers. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in most countries in the WHO European Region. In 2018, about 430 000 people died from lung cancer in the European Region, and more than half a million new cases were diagnosed. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of lung cancer: ten years after the last cigarette, the risk is half that of a smoker.
- Chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma: Smoking is the most common cause of COPD, a Disease, which manifests itself in painful coughs and agonizing breathing difficulties. It also exacerbates asthma conditions that limit people's range of action and contribute to disability. According to the latest available data, COPD accounted for approximately 3.6% of all deaths in the European Region in 2017. Quitting smoking early is the most effective way to slow the progression of the disease and improve asthma symptoms.
In addition, children exposed to secondhand smoke are at higher risk of frequent lower respiratory tract infections and onset and exacerbation of asthma, pneumonia, and bronchitis. The link between smoking and tuberculosis is also well established, and the chemical constituents of tobacco smoke may serve as triggers for latent tuberculosis infections. In persons with active tuberculosis, smoking may also increase the risk of disability and Death increase as a result of respiratory failure.
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