Everyone is at risk. The following table lists down some of the established and suspected health effects of cigarette smoking. Cigarettes are the only available consumer products that are hazardous to health when used as intended. The indirect costs from premature death and lost productivity are even higher. Countries in the Western Pacific cannot afford this additional and significant drain on their governments' resources from tobacco use.
Tobacco use is the largest public health threat to the Western Pacific region.
Yet, smoking rates continue to increase. We must act quickly to stop the tobacco epidemic, and we must act now.