WHO estimates that 500 million people alive today will die prematurely from smoking, most of them in the developing world where smoking rates are rising. Some 60,000 teenagers worldwide start smoking every day compared to 3,000 in America. U.S. tobacco companies sell far more cigarettes overseas than in the US, targeting nonsmoking children and women in less developed countries, and earning more than half their profits in overseas sales. However, unlike for other public health emergencies, for international tobacco control the U.S. provides no significant programs, support or leadership. The decline in Western tobacco use is no accident-it is the result of massive accessible information and public education programs which in turn have led to action by governments and individuals.
Hungarian teens light up and risk a host of chronic diseases and death.
Support the establishment of an American NGO that would assist public health organizations in other countries through public education programs, technical assistance to health professionals, mass media campaigns, grants and other general assistance. They also served as a resource for and participated in Sen. Richard Durbin's international policy conference on children and tobacco in 1999.