The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2017 is "Tobacco – a threat to development."

Every year, on 31 May, WHO and partners mark World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), highlighting the health and additional risks associated with tobacco use, and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.

About the campaign

In December 2016 HCC released a report on 'Civil Society Led Tobacco Control Advocacy in the Caribbean - The experiences of the Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control (JCTC)'.

The JCTC has recorded remarkable and measurable success. It has been a champion for the implementation of the articles under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), successfully advocating for legislation in Jamaica despite considerable tobacco industry interference. Its work has been recognised and applauded both regionally and globally.

We believe this report, and the experiences and lessons learned from the JCTC, will serve as a resource for civil society NCD advocacy for years to come. We hope that it will be used to bring about the enactment of tobacco control legislation by CARICOM countries as called for in the FCTC which has been ratified by almost all CARICOM countries. The need for action by CARICOM countries in this important area of NCD prevention continues to be of critical importance and requires strong and sustained advocacy by CSOs. The report was also featured on NCD Alliance website here.

Every year, on 31 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners mark World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), highlighting the health and additional risks associated with tobacco use, and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.
 
This year’s theme for WNTD is “Tobacco- a threat to development”. The WHO is imploring countries to be aware of the threats that the tobacco industry poses to sustainable development, including the health and economic well-being of their citizens, and proposes measures that governments and the public should take to promote health and development by confronting the global tobacco crisis.

THE Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control (JCTC), a tobacco control advocacy group, was launched Friday, May 31, 2002 on World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), and is celebrating its 15th anniversary. The organisation works closely with the Government, health and allied organisations as well as the media to encourage abstinence and prevention of tobacco use in order to attain and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
 
The JCTC vision is for a tobacco free Jamaica, and its mission is de-normalizing the use of tobacco and all nicotine products and is in keeping with the goals of the WNTD campaign.

The HCC will be joining the American Cancer Society’s global Prevent20 campaign - a coalition of cancer groups calling on governments to raise tobacco taxes. Prevent20 is a global movement aimed at leveraging the experiences of the cancer community to support advocacy for tobacco taxation. The HCC will be working with regional cancer societies to: build knowledge the benefits of tobacco taxation in plain, non-technical language; learn how to use persuasive arguments to counter tobacco industry claims; and better understand how taxation can contribute to attaining global NCD reduction targets.

Webinar: “Tobacco, a threat to development” will be held on Thursday, 1st June, 2017, to mark World No Tobacco Day 2017.
 
"Tobacco, a threat to development" is World No Tobacco Day theme this year, and on this occasion we have organized an expert panel that will focus on the association of tobacco use and poverty and how tobacco control measures can contribute to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The HCC is a regional network of Caribbean health NGOs and civil society organizations with the remit to combat chronic diseases (NCDs) and their associated risk factors and conditions. Our membership presently consists of more than 65 Caribbean-based health NGOs and over 55 not-for-profit organisations and, in excess of 200 individual members based in the Caribbean and across the globe.

To join the HCC email us at hcc@healthycaribbean.org