Tobacco Control for Sustainable Development

Overview

The global burden of tobacco use is well known and so are the adverse health, economic, social and environment consequences of tobacco use. Tobacco has also been recognized as a threat to development, which is being emphasized through the theme of World No Tobacco Day 2017 – “Tobacco – a threat to development”. The WHO South-East Asia Region has a high burden of tobacco. This document has been developed to provide guidance to Member States of the South-East Asia Region regarding the relationship of tobacco use and the Sustainable Development Goals (‎SDGs)‎. Although the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has been recognized as a means of implementation of SDG 3 (‎the health goal)‎, the relationship of tobacco use with sustainable development extends far beyond this goal. The document speaks of opportunities offered by tobacco control to support efforts to achieve the implementation of the SDGs.