About Us

( PDF-200K)
 

Introduction

On This Page • Introduction • Vision • Mission • Strategic Priorities • Global Objectives Objective 1.0 • Surveillance • Research Objective 2.0 • Policy Tools • Skill-building Workshops and Conferences • WHO Framework Convention • Communicating Global Messages Objective 3.0 • Strengthen partnerships

Tobacco use is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO)* attributes approximately 4.9 million deaths a year to tobacco use, a figure expected to double by 2030. Unless current trends are impacted, the vast majority of these deaths are projected to occur in the developing world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Global Tobacco Control Program in the Office on Smoking and Health is dedicated to working with partners to prevent death and disease through effective and sustainable global tobacco prevention and control.

Vision

A world free from tobacco-related death and disease.

OSH Mission

As the lead federal agency, CDC's Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) develops, conducts, and supports strategic efforts for comprehensive tobacco use prevention and control to protect the public's health.

Return to Top
 

OSH Strategic Priorities

• Promoting sustainable funding for science based comprehensive tobacco control programs at CDC-recommended levels.
   

• Conducting tobacco product research and information dissemination.
   

• Enhancing national coverage for quitlines and Web-based cessation resources for all tobacco users.
   

• Promoting comprehensive global tobacco use prevention and control

Global Objectives

• Strengthen global tobacco control surveillance systems to monitor the global tobacco epidemic and advance research to promote effective tobacco control programs.
   

• Increase country/regional capacity to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive tobacco control policies and programs.
   

• Strengthen partnerships to leverage resources for efficient and sustainable tobacco control initiatives.
   

Return to Top
 

Objective 1.0

Surveillance

To support an enhanced surveillance system to monitor the global tobacco epidemic, CDC is involved in three global surveillance activities: the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), the Global School Personnel Survey (GSPS), and the Global Health Professionals Survey (GHPS).

The GYTS was developed by CDC and WHO (Headquarters and Regional Offices) to enhance the capacity of countries to design, implement, and evaluate their tobacco control programs. The GYTS monitors youth tobacco use, attitudes, exposure to tobacco smoke, and other critical measures by collecting, analyzing, and disseminating representative and reliable data that can be compared across countries. More than 160 nations (85% of WHO member states) are involved in GTYS. In 2003, the GYTS Collaborating Group published Gender Differences in Global Youth Tobacco Use, which reported on the narrowing gender gap in tobacco consumption among youths (Journal of School Health 73, (4): 207-215, 2003). For example, of 120 sites that collected data from boys and girls, more than half (61 sites) showed no difference in cigarette smoking among boys and girls, and 70% of sites (82 of 117 sites) showed no difference in other tobacco use among boys and girls. More information about GYTS and other publications.

The GSPS was developed by CDC and WHO (Headquarters and Regional Offices) to collect data from school personnel about their tobacco use and attitudes, and about school policies and curricular practices. As of December 2003, GSPS had been conducted in 19 countries. Recent GSPS findings are that tobacco use among school personnel in Bihar, India, was reported by 77% of men and women (Tobacco Control 11:82-85, 2002). Alarmingly, of 630 respondents, all but two reported that there was no school policy on tobacco use for students or personnel. Despite high tobacco use rates, however, strong support was found for control policies at school, for price increases, and for restrictions on product advertising among tobacco users and nonusers.

The GHPS is being developed by WHO (Headquarters and Regional Offices) and CDC to collect information from third-year students attending dental, medical, nursing, and pharmacy schools. GHPS collects data on tobacco use, knowledge and attitudes, cessation, school curriculum and training. A core questionnaire is being developed and the school-based sampling methodology used with GYTS will be employed. GHPS will be pilot tested in one country within each of the six WHO Regions during 2004.

Return to Top
 

Research

CDC is working in collaboration with other executive agencies and the governments of China, India, Mexico, and Poland to produce Country Reports, which will document the national tobacco situation and control measures.

To address the lack of information available on Novel Tobacco Products, the CDC is developing a series of published reports on products such as bidis, kreteks, and water pipes.

In collaboration with WHO, CDC evaluated cigarette samples purchased in the world's 10 most populous countries, three additional countries, and the United States for carcinogens, toxins, and additives of public health interest. In Tobacco- Specific Nitrosamines in Tobacco from US Brand and Non-US Brand Cigarettes (Nicotine & Tobacco Research 5: 323-31, 2003), a popular US brand of cigarettes sold in the United States was compared with the same US brand and popular local cigarette brands sold outside the United States. One major finding is that, in 11 of 13 countries studied, the level of carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines in the tobacco of the US brand of cigarettes was significantly higher than in the tobacco of the locally popular non-US brands from the same country. These research efforts serve to deepen the understanding of tobacco products and their harmful effects on health.

Privacy Policy | Accessibility

TIPS Home | What's New | Misison | Site Map | Contact Us

CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z

This page last reviewed September 24, 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