Fight smoking worldwide

Bit by bit, tobacco has been squeezed out of American public life. Smoking in places of work, on airplanes, in public buildings and restaurants has been virtually eliminated due to changes in the law and educational efforts.

But as tobacco use in the United States has declined, it has vastly proliferated elsewhere in the world. In fact, tobacco's use is so widespread it could kill a projected 1 billion people during the 21st century, according to a new report by the World Health Organization. The report calls on all nations to drastically increase efforts to prevent young people from starting to smoke, help smokers quit and protect nonsmokers from secondhand exposure. These are common-sense measures.

According to the report, nearly two-thirds of the world's smokers live in 10 countries. China accounts for nearly 30 percent of all smokers worldwide. India has about 10 percent followed by Indonesia, Russia, the United States, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Germany and Turkey.

The report also found that many governments profit handsomely from taxes assessed on cigarette sales but spend a pittance on anti-tobacco efforts. Poor and middle-income countries collect 5,000 times more in tax revenue than they spend on anti-smoking efforts.

Unless that changes, a billion people could pay the price with their lives. These are people who live in countries where the potential for increased tobacco use is the highest and health care services are least available. It's a recipe for misery and disaster.

But it doesn't have to be that way. The United States has made great strides in curbing tobacco use. Tobacco products contain health warnings and retailers observe strict age limits on tobacco purchases. Tobacco advertisements and sponsorship of events have been drastically curtailed. After indoor smoking bans were instituted, some municipalities have begun to ban smoking in parks and other outdoor venues. One proposal before the Utah Legislature would ban smoking in private automobiles when children are present.

Unlike the United States' earliest efforts to regulate tobacco, there are now volumes of medical studies that document the dangers of tobacco use to smokers and nonsmokers. Health ministers in poor, developing nations must urge their governments to use far more tax money derived from tobacco taxes to curb its use and educate youth not to start smoking.

Yes, these nations may be hooked on the tax revenue that tobacco sales provide. But over time, that revenue will be blunted by the horrible price that will be paid in health care costs, smokers who cannot work because of lung ailments or cancer as well as ill-effects experienced by those who inhale secondhand smoke.

Credit the World Health Organization for its efforts to take on Big Tobacco on a worldwide basis. The governments of nations with the highest smoking rates — which sadly, still includes the United States — must also take stronger stands against this known health threat. Their citizens' lives depend upon it.