The leading causes of human death are diseases classified as non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. NCDs cause more than 36 million deaths each year (63% of global deaths), with 14 million of these deaths occurring between the ages of 30 and 70, and are considered premature deaths.
In addition to common risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful levels of alcohol use, and the reorganization and operationalization of public policies, NCDs can be largely prevented with the contribution of non-health sectors. Our association has pioneered and collaborated in many efforts to eliminate all these causes. In 2018, T.The "Fight Against Obesity" project with the Ministry of Health in 2018, the "Promoting Active Life Project" with the Ministry of Health and Yıldırım Beyazıt University in 2013, the "Healthy Life Project" with the Evidence-Based Medicine Association, the "Diabetes Patient Empowerment Program" and the "Project for Raising Nutrition Standards", the "Medico Psycho-Social Modeling Project for Combating Substance Addiction" and the "Patient Empowerment Program" with the contributions of our association are among the main projects implemented in 2016. With all these projects, 8 million people have been reached on healthy nutrition, 1889 family physicians and 7413 physical education teachers have been trained on physical activity and approximately 1.5 million exercise prescriptions have been distributed throughout Turkey.
One of the biggest factors causing non-communicable diseases is smoking. Smoking is an important and preventable public health problem recognized as a cause of death and disease in all countries of the world. This problem has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a global challenge.
Global data show that half of all men and one in ten women use tobacco products today. According to the projection of the World Health Organization, 1.1 billion people will continue to smoke in 2030, which is similar to today. Smoking cessation rates are very low. If tobacco use continues at this rate, it is estimated that around 1 billion people will die due to tobacco use during this century. At the 2013 meeting of the World Health Assembly, countries were recommended to reduce tobacco use by one third by 2025. In this way, it was shared that it would be possible to prevent around 200 million deaths worldwide. Other MPOWER strategies recommended by the World Health Organization are also important in reducing tobacco use.
In addition, the illicit trade in tobacco products in Turkey is estimated to be over 20%. Independent authorities estimate that 17% of illicit tobacco products are illicit roll-your-own tobacco and 3% are counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes. The sale of contraband tobacco and cigarettes threatens public health while reducing government tax revenues.
Quitting smoking is the best choice to reduce the harms of smoking and prevent smoking-related diseases. Unfortunately, a lot of non-scientific information, especially about smoking, is shared with the public and the public is exposed to information that is not based on science and evidence. Evidence-based scientific data should be considered in decisions and guidance regarding tobacco products and all segments of the society should be informed accordingly. In addition, countries and strategies that have been successful in the fight against smoking by reducing the rate of use should also be considered and evaluated.
When we consider the high rate of smoking in Turkey, we believe that current and different perspectives should be included in public health policies in addition to the basic and prioritized strategies such as preventing smoking initiation and encouraging cessation. We believe that all non-governmental organizations, especially the relevant ministries, should work in cooperation with local administrations, and that success can only be achieved with a total fight against smoking because smoking has not decreased in our country despite increasing regulations and smoking rates have remained similar for more than a decade.
Our association has started project studies for the fight against smoking, which will be developed in line with global and national policies as in other risk factors. You can access the opinions of all national and international authorities and the relevant studies of the Ministry of Health on our website.
