On Monday, July 16, the President of Vietnam, Truong Tan Sang, signed into law a comprehensive tobacco control bill. The law mandates 100% smoke-free environments in almost all public places, including restaurants in Vietnam. It also requires 50% of tobacco package surfaces to have graphic pictorial warnings, while also strengthening the nation’s advertising ban. Mike Bloomberg visited Vietnam earlier this year and had this to say about the news:

“I want to congratulate Vietnam for officially going smoke-free. Last week, Vietnam adopted a comprehensive tobacco control law which makes virtually all public places 100% smoke-free and requires vivid health warnings on all tobacco packages. These are proven practices that Bloomberg Philanthropies advocates through its work to reduce tobacco use,” said Michael Bloomberg. “Tobacco control is a key initiative of Bloomberg Philanthropies because we know reducing smoking and exposure to second hand smoke saves lives. This significant step in Vietnam, where we have been working since 2007, is encouraging for tobacco control efforts globally. I visited Vietnam in March and spoke with the Prime Minister about this important issue and I want to applaud him and the other government leaders for their strong commitment to saving lives and standing up for the health of the people of Vietnam.”

(Source: mikebloomberg.com)

A new study – funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and appearing in the journal Tobacco Control — found that worldwide smoking rates could be reduced by 44 percent in only 20 years if countries immediately adopt the proven tobacco-control policies developed by the World Health Organization and implemented via the Bloomberg Initiative on Global Tobacco Control. These policies, collectively known as the MPOWER package, include higher tobacco taxes, programs to help smokers quit, advertising bans and anti-tobacco education programs.

Kelly Henning, M.D., director of Public Health Programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies said, “We know when MPOWER measures are implemented, the results are clear: fewer people use tobacco and they live longer, healthier lives. This research clearly shows just how effective these policies can be if they are broadly adopted. We are proud of the progress to date of the Bloomberg Initiative, but there is still much work to be done.”

According to the study, the global adult smoking rate was 23.7 percent in 2010. The author estimate that if no additional policies are set in place, global prevalence will continue to grow to 872 million smokers by 2030. However, if countries immediately implement MPOWER, the global smoking prevalence would fall to 523 million smokers by 2030.  

Matthew Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement that “No other public health measures have the potential to save so many lives in such a short time. These findings are a powerful reminder to governments that we know how to dramatically reduce tobacco use, the world’s number one cause of preventable death.”

Given that half of lifetime tobacco users are killed by tobacco-related sickness, these policies have the potential to save tens of millions of lives.

Read the full study [subscription required]

Two organizations from Colombia, Corporate Accountability International Colombia and Fundación para la Educación y el Desarrollo Social, received an MPOWER Award for their joint efforts to strengthen implementation and enforcement of the country’s newly passed tobacco advertising and sponsorship ban.

Lorena Avila further elaborates on Columbia’s tobacco control efforts and collaboration with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids through support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Mayor Bloomberg presents Mr. Daniel Tan, Health Justice, Philippines with an MPOWER award for the law group’s efforts to monitor tobacco industry influence.

Watch this video to learn more about the Health Justice’s work to monitor the influence of the tobacco industry in the Philippines.

Ambassador and Director of the Uruguay Ministry of Health, Ricardo Varela, discusses his country’s efforts to implement the largest health warnings on cigarette packs in the world and winning a Bloomberg Award for Global Tobacco Control:

Take a moment to watch the video below highlighting the Ministry of Health’s efforts to implement and defend its tobacco warning labels. The video was shown at the Bloomberg MPOWER awards ceremony at the 2012 World Conference on Tobacco or Health.

A press release about the Bloomberg MPOWER award winners can be found here.

Turkey enacted a comprehensive smoke-free law thanks in large part to the Turkish National Coalition on Tobacco or Health, a coalition of 40 organizations devoted to saving lives through smart, effective health care policies. Dr. Elif Dagli, Chair of the National Coalition on Tobacco or Health, tells us what it means to win a Bloomberg Award for Tobacco Control:

Watch this video to learn more about the Coalition’s efforts to make Turkey smoke-free:

A press release about the Bloomberg awardees can be found here.

Mayor Bloomberg announced the winners of this year’s global tobacco control awards. Six organizations from around the world were recognized with the MPOWER award for their success in fighting the global tobacco epidemic in their native countries of Colombia, Uruguay, Turkey, Philippines and Egypt.