Thaindian News

POMONA, NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) – The Rockland County Department of Health in New York on Monday reminded residents that Monday, May 31 is World No Tobacco Day.

Since 1987, the last day of May has been a day when people around the world are encouraged to participate in a 24-hour abstinence from all forms of tobacco use, as it is intended to draw global attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects, which currently lead to 5.4 million deaths worldwide annually.

The county department launched the Put It Out Rockland Quit Smoking program to not only boost residents’ participation, but to remind them that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco 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. It is also the number one preventable cause of disability and death. The program has helped around 1,500 people quit smoking.

This year’s theme for World No Tobacco Day is, “Gender and tobacco with an emphasis on marketing to women.” Women comprise about 20% of the world’s more than one billion smokers, and according to the WHO, “the epidemic of tobacco use among women is increasing in some countries.

Women are a major target of opportunity for the tobacco industry, which needs to recruit new users to replace the nearly half of current users who will die prematurely from tobacco-related diseases. Especially troubling is the rising prevalence of tobacco use among girls.”

“The benefits of quitting start within 20 minutes of putting out your last cigarette and last a lifetime,” Rockland County’s Commissioner of Health Dr. Joan Facelle said. “Some benefits you will notice right away and others will develop over time.”