World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed by the UN members around the world every year on May 31. This day encourages a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption around the globe. The member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day in 1987. In 1987, the WHO’s World Health Assembly passed a Resolution, calling for April 7, 1988 to be “a world no-smoking day”. 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, another Resolution was passed by the World Health Assembly, calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on May 31.
The day has been met with both enthusiasm and resistance around the globe from governments, public health organizations, smokers, growers, and the tobacco industry.
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The day is intended to create awareness towards the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects, which currently lead to nearly 6 million deaths each year worldwide, including 600,000 of which are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
Each year, the WHO selects a theme for the day in order to create a more unified global message for WNTD. This theme then becomes the central component of the WHO’s tobacco-related agenda for the following year. The WHO oversees the creation and distribution of publicity materials related to the theme, including brochures, fliers, posters, websites, and press releases.
Each year on this day, World No Tobacco Day Awards are given by WHO to individuals from six different world regions (Africa, Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, South-East Asia, and Western Pacific), and Director-General Special Awards and Recognition Certificates are given to individuals from any region.
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The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2017 is “Tobacco – a threat to development.” It will demonstrate the threats that the tobacco industry poses to the sustainable development of all countries, including the health and economic well-being of their citizens. It will also propose measures that governments and the public should take to promote health and development by confronting the global tobacco crisis.