NO TO CIGARETTES!

A National Strategy for Tobacco Control (NSTC) in Azerbaijan was presented to the second National Conference on Tobacco Control. It was developed by the Public Health centre at the Azerbaijani Ministry of Health, the Azerbaijani Association of Communications in Healthcare (AACH) and the Centre for Communication Programmes at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In addition to the project working group, members of the National Anti-Tobacco Coalition also participated in developing the strategy. They represent key agencies such as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Taxation, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health, as well as NGOs and international organizations. Aspects of the strategy are currently being re-examined by the Ministry of Health, after which they will be submitted for approval to the Cabinet of Ministers. It is planned to develop an anti-tobacco action plan at national level.

The development of the strategy began in January last year when the idea was presented to the Bloomberg Foundation. The first draft was approved in April 2009 and funding was permitted in June. The conference noted that the preparation of the NSTC in Azerbaijan was preceded by a lot of work. In particular, the Association of Communications in Healthcare conducted surveys, which revealed that 49 per cent of the country's male population aged 15-49 use tobacco every day, while 97 per cent of men and 89 per cent of women believe that smoking harms people's health.

Not all that is fashionable is good

However, the number of smokers is rising from year to year. According to the State Statistics Committee, almost a quarter of the country's population - 22 per cent - is subjected to tobacco smoke today. It is even more alarming that more youngsters and women are tending to use tobacco. And this is while the vast majority of people know that nicotine dependency leads to premature death from cancer and cardiovascular diseases. No less harm is caused by passive smoking. It accelerates the growth of existing tumours in the people around you. In children, passive smoking can cause asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis and the same diseases that are caused by heavy smoking.

There are numerous reasons why people smoke. But the most prevalent of them surprise us not by their contribution to this addiction, but rather by the lack of thought they reveal. For example, in most cases, men aged 20-34 smoke to assert themselves, while the second most prevalent reason is fashion, that is, male smokers think that, with a cigarette, they are keeping pace with the times. Men aged 35-50 in our country believe that if your friends smoke, you should definitely smoke, too. Some in the 35-50 age group think that smoking is prestigious.

According to Nurlan Aliyev, the president of the AACH and project coordinator of the National Strategy for Tobacco Control, 5.4 million people die from smoking annually in the world. And while, according to experts at the World Health Organization, smoking killed 100 million people in the 20th century, then, according to pessimistic forecasts, one billion people will die from smoking in the 21st century. At the same time, it should be noted that passive smoking kills about 600,000 people each year. Aliyev stressed that the West is now well aware that smoking is a habit you have to get rid of and people are doing so under the influence of strong prevention programmes, which cannot be said of people in the CIS countries. Another interesting fact is that even among physicians in CIS countries, there are rather high numbers of smokers, whereas in the States only 2 per cent of physicians are affected by this harmful habit.

Aliyev noted that smoking has become not only a medical, but also a social problem for Azerbaijan. Consequently, it is necessary to take appropriate measures and wage a tough fight to keep the situation under control. The National Strategy for Tobacco Control is the means of struggle that should help prevent the spread of nicotine.

Six key strategies

The document describes various aspects of the tobacco problem, determines methods of struggle and suggests possible activities which will involve both government agencies and NGOs. Incidentally, the existence of a national strategy is one of the main requirements of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Azerbaijan joined the convention in November 2005. This document confirms the right to the highest level of health. To date, the convention has been joined by 168 countries. One of its requirements is a national strategy for tobacco control, covering all aspects of the problem and various areas of the economy, social relations, cultural and ethical ideas. Incidentally, in developing this strategy, the AACH relied on the so-called MPOWER package to the WHO Convention - a set of six very important and effective measures against tobacco: tax and price increases; bans on advertising, promotion and sponsorship; protecting people from passive smoking; warning everyone about the dangers of tobacco; offering assistance to those who want to quit smoking; careful monitoring of the epidemic and preventive measures. It has been proved that these actions reduce tobacco consumption. Thus, the strategy includes such major issues as the monitoring of tobacco production, measures to reduce tobacco consumption and tobacco production, protecting people from tobacco smoke, assistance in quitting smoking, public awareness about the dangers of smoking, bans on advertising, sponsorship and sales promotion etc. In addition to the basic tactics of international tobacco control, the strategy also spells out the main ways to achieve them. In developing the document, the experience of several countries, mainly Turkey and Russia, was taken into account.

The important point is that the national strategy provides for psychological and medical assistance to people wishing to quit smoking. Indeed, Azerbaijan still has very few medical offices providing such assistance, either in private or public clinics; they are negligible considering the number of smokers in the country. Aliyev hopes that the adoption of the strategy will streamline the service's work and bring it into line with international standards. The expert believes that the fight against tobacco in the country should be waged stage by stage. International experience indicates that this is the most effective way. And if every point of the strategy is effectively implemented in Azerbaijan, then the spread of smoking will be curtailed very soon.