On May 31, 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) joined the World Health Organization (WHO)* in promoting "World No-Tobacco Day, 1999," with the theme "Leave the Pack Behind." By the year 2025, the annual number of tobacco-related deaths is projected to reach 10 million, with 70 percent of deaths occurring in developing countries. Smoking cessation interventions can prevent many of these deaths.

World No-Tobacco Day, an annual international one-day observance, is intended to help people and their governments understand the hazards of tobacco use. Throughout the world, tobacco users are encouraged to quit smoking for at least one day. Smoking cessation is a critical step toward substantially reducing the health risks of current smokers, thereby improving world health.

The first step toward quitting is making the commitment to quit. It's never too soon or too late to quit. All smokers, particularly young people, were encouraged to make the first step toward quitting by following the World No-Tobacco Day theme -- "Leave the Pack Behind."

As part of World No-Tobacco Day, CDC released two new scientific studies in the May 21, 1999, issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

• One study confirms wide variation of nicotine dosing in popular moist snuff brands.

• The other presents results of the first-ever binational study of illegal cigarette sales to minors in three border cities in the United States and Mexico – 1999.
  

Entire MMWR Document in Portable Document Format
(PDF - 241K)

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This page last reviewed May 14, 2004

United States Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office on Smoking and Health