Abstract PL04-04: Global tobacco control and disparities in smoking.

Abstract

Abstract Tobacco products are a major cause of death and disease across the globe. These products killed 100 million people in the 20th century, and they are currently responsible for almost 6 million deaths annually. In 2008, more people died from tobacco products than from AIDS, TB, and malaria combined. If current trends persist, it is estimated that tobacco products will kill more than 8 million people worldwide each year by the year 2030. By the end of this century, tobacco products may kill a billion people or more unless urgent action is taken. Not only are tobacco products are a major cause of preventable death and disease, but they are also responsible for increasing health disparities. In high income countries, the prevalence of tobacco use is highest among the most disadvantaged segments of society, including those with mental health illnesses, those of low socioeconomic status, and those with comorbidities. But there are also major disparities in the burden of illness from tobacco products across nations, with low and middle income countries (LMIC) bearing the lion's share of the devastating impacts of tobacco products. This presentation will focus on global health disparities caused by tobacco. Because low and middle income countries are still in the early stages of the tobacco epidemic, they have yet to experience the full impact of tobacco-caused disease and death already evident in wealthier countries where tobacco use has been common for much of the past century. Many of these countries have fewer resources to respond to the health, social and economic problems caused by tobacco use, which will exacerbate the tobacco epidemic's impacts. Tobacco-caused disease and death will hit these countries very hard in the coming decades, absent a strong international effort to combat tobacco use. The good news is that many countries have made great strides in implementing evidence-based tobacco control policies to address this preventable epidemic. Citation Format: Joanna Cohen. Global tobacco control and disparities in smoking. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr PL04-04.