The World Health Organization cites tobacco use as "one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced."

Tobacco is the number one preventable cause of disability and death.Tobacco can have many negative health effects; it is a risk factor for six out of eight of the leading causes of death in the world, such as cardiovascular disease, lung diseases, and various cancers.

The WHO attributes 1 in 10 deaths worldwide to tobacco use, which equates to 5.4 million today. By 2030, they estimate that the number of tobacco-related deaths will have risen to 8 million.Because of these issues, tobacco consumption is seen by the WHO as a key public health issue.

WNTD is a part of the WHO's larger strategy to change tobacco-related thinking and behaviors around the world with the aim of making the world healthier. According to the WHO, the point of World No Tobacco Day is to ask people to abstain from using all tobacco products for 24 hours in order to begin breaking their addiction to the "harmful and wasteful habit."The day is meant to raise awareness about the health risks associated with tobacco and advocate for better policies to reduce consumption worldwide.

World No Tobacco Day is one of many other world health awareness days throughout the year organized by the WHO, including World Mental Health Day, World AIDS Day, and World Blood Donor Day, among others.

Timeline of WNTD

In 1987, the World Health Assembly of the WHO passed Resolution WHA40.38, calling for April 7, 1988 to be "a world no-smoking day". April 7, 1988 was the 40th anniversary of the WHO. The objective of the day was to urge tobacco users worldwide to abstain from using tobacco products for 24 hours, an action they hoped would provide assistance for those trying to quit.

In 1988, Resolution WHA42.19 was passed by the World Health Assembly, calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on May 31. Since then, the WHO has supported World No Tobacco Day every year, linking each year to a different tobacco-related theme.

In 1998, the WHO established the Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI), an attempt to focus international resources and attention on the global health epidemic of tobacco. The initiative provides assistance for creating global public health policy, encourages mobilization across societies, and supports the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The WHO FCTC is a global public health treaty adopted in 2003 by countries across the globe as an agreement to implement policies that work towards tobacco cessation.

In 2008, on the eve of the World No Tobacco Day the WHO called for a worldwide ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. The theme of that year's day was Tobacco-free youth; therefore, this initiative was especially meant to target advertising efforts aimed at youth. According to the WHO, the tobacco industry must replace older quitting or dying smokers with younger consumers. Because of this, marketing strategies are commonly observed in places that will attract youth such as movies, the Internet, billboards, and magazines. Studies have shown that the more youth are exposed to tobacco advertising, the more likely they are to smoke.