Tobacco Eradication

World No Tobacco Day 2014

Almost 5 months after the 50th Anniversary of the first U.S. Surgeon-General's Report on the Hazards of Smoking, Airspace Action on Smoking and Health -- the world's leading all volunteer anti-tobacco organization -- is marking the World Health Organization's 26th annual World No Tobacco Day (May 31, 2014) by once again renewing our call for the total eradication of the tobacco industry (yes, both the legal and illegal components) from the face of the planet.

Themes for WNTDs have covered a wide range of very worthwhile ideas and initiatives over the past 26 years, including:

• Public places and transport: better be tobacco free (1991);
• Tobacco free workplaces: safer and healthier (1992);
• Health services: our windows to a tobacco free world (1993);
• Sport and art without tobacco: play it tobacco free (1996);
• United for a tobacco free world (1997);
• Tobacco free sports (2002);
• Tobacco free film, tobacco free fashion (2003); and
• Tobacco free youth (2009)   [emphasis mine throughout].

Many other themes use the words "without tobacco", clearly implying tobacco free as well.

As wonderful as all of those objectives are -- tobacco free public places, transport, workplaces, sport, art, film, fashion, youth, etc. -- a tobacco free world is the 'umbrella' that covers all of those things and, clearly, much more.