Quitting tobacco is challenging, especially with the added social and economic stresses that have come as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Worldwide around 780 million people say that they want to quit, but only 30% of them have access to the tools that can help them do so.
Recently, WHO launches a year-long global campaign for World No Tobacco Day 2021 – “Commit to Quit.”
The new WHO Quit Challenge on WhatsApp and publication “More than 100 reasons to quit tobacco” are being released to mark the start of the campaign.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to millions of tobacco users saying they want to quit. The campaign will support at least 100 million people as they try to give up tobacco through communities of quitters.
“Commit to Quit” will help create healthier environments that are:
- Conducive to quitting tobacco by advocating for strong tobacco cessation policies;
- Increasing access to cessation services;
- Raising awareness of tobacco industry tactics, and empowering tobacco users to make successful quit attempts through “quit & win” initiatives.
WHO, together with partners, will create and build-up digital communities where people can find the social support they need to quit. The focus will be on high burden countries where the majority of the world’s tobacco users live.
WHO welcomes new contributions from partners, including private sector companies that have offered support, including Allen Carr’s Easyway, Amazon Web Services, Cipla, Facebook and WhatsApp, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Praekelt, and Soul Machines.
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