Public Health Awareness: Raising Awareness on smoking and tobacco use

Globally, more than 41 million people die annually from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, chronic lung and chronic respiratory diseases, accounting for 71% of deaths.

According to the statistics of World Health Organization (WHO), it is found that 86% of death rate between the age of 30-70 years in developing countries are due to (NCDs). In Myanmar also, about two-third of deaths in hospital and clinics were due to non-communicable diseases in 2018. One of the causes of non-communicable diseases is cigarette smoking and tobacco use and it is also preventable disease. According to 2014 surveys, 54.4 %of adults in Myanmar are consuming some form of cigarette or tobacco.

Among them, 26.1% are current smokers, and 43.2% are consuming tobacco and its related products in betel quid. According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) 2016, 2% of women and 11% of men are tobacco users. Worldwide, more than 8 million people a year die prematurely from diseases related to smoking and tobacco use, of which more than 1 million die from second-hand smoke exposure, the majority of whom are women and young children.

Since 2000 in Myanmar, the control of smoking and tobacco use is being carried out as a priority in the National Health Initiatives. Concerted efforts are being made not only to avoid the use of cigarette and tobacco which cause negative effects on health but also for tobacco farmers to cultivate tobacco substitute crops. Only then, it can assist one-third reduction in the number of deaths from non-communicable diseases in 2025.