INWAT.org

World No Tobacco Day 2004
May 31^st
Tobacco and Poverty
INWAT Media Release

WNTD 2004 Poster

A total of 75% of tobacco users live in developing countries and everyday more women are using tobacco products. Addiction to tobacco industry products steals household income when money used to purchase tobacco could have been spent on nutritious food, education and clothing.

Tobacco and Poverty is the theme for
World No Tobacco Day May 31^st 2004

For more information on World No Tobacco Day visit The World Health Organization website and the UICC GLOBALink International Tobacco-Control Network website

Facts

There are significantly more women living in poverty in the world compared to men.
The main beneficiaries of the tobacco business are executives from wealthy countries and not tobacco farmers and factory workers in developing countries.
It is mainly the poor who smoke in developing countries. For example, in Bangladesh the poorest households are two times as likely to smoke as the wealthiest.
Tobacco users in developing countries often consider nutritious foods luxury items and tobacco, because of its addictive quality, a daily necessity
When tobacco prices are kept low, more people use tobacco and thereby waste more of their money on it
In many developing countries, men control the income. In some cases, when men spend their money on tobacco they continue to eat adequately and their wives and children are likely to go hungry as a result.

Reports and Resources

To learn more about tobacco and poverty, download and read the following reports. All facts listed above where derived from these documents.

Link	Curbing the Epidemic - World Bank
Link	The Tobacco Atlas PART TWO: The Costs of Tobacco - World Health Organisation
	Fact Sheet on Tobacco and Poverty - PATH Canada
	Hungry for Tobacco: An Analysis of the Economic Impact of Tobacco Consumption on the Poor in Bangladesh - Efroyomson et al.
	Poverty and Tobacco - Joy DeBeyer, Chris Lovelace and Ayda Yurekli
	Golden Leaf, Barren Harvest: The Costs of Tobacco Farming - Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
	Searching for the Solution - Yvonne Bostock, Health Development Agency & INWAT Europe

What You Can Do

Sign-up on the FCTC website as an individual or an organization to encourage governments to achieve consistent tobacco control standards across the globe in an effort to protect health especially for women and girls as indicated in Article 4 of this treaty.
Create awareness about tobacco and poverty facts in your own community. Creating awareness could include media releases, events and newsletter reports.
Avoid tobacco industry products.