The 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health was held in Cape Town, South Africa from 7-9 March 2018. It was a landmark event in tobacco control; the first time the conference has been held on the African continent – where the tobacco industry is aggressively expanding new markets – and the first to have a black female president. Nearly 2500 delegates from around the world attended to exchange ideas and showcase research aimed at ending the tobacco epidemic.
Key themes were the importance of taxation – one of the most effective, but under-used, tobacco control measures, tobacco industry strategies – including the Philip Morris International-funded Foundation for a Smoke Free World, and the intersection between the tobacco epidemic and gender.
This page brings together comprehensive coverage of WCTOH2018, and will be regularly updated.
A New Front – and a New Ally – in the Tobacco Wars: the Cape Town Declaration on Human Rights and a Tobacco-Free World https://t.co/waHkqC867l @ashofficial @unfairtobacco @vera_dacosta @WCTOH2018 pic.twitter.com/dd7w200R44
— Tobacco Control (@TC_BMJ) April 5, 2018
Tobacco use & related illness and death are a growing problem among women and girls in the #African Region. Countries and partners need to implement, within the context of general tobacco control actions, specific interventions tailored to address this. #WCTOH2018
Say #NoTobacco pic.twitter.com/MMYp8dKfEN— Dr Matshidiso Moeti (@MoetiTshidi) March 9, 2018
Perfect Storm: Smoking Rises in African Youth@JLCastroGarcia features in this @bbcworldservice programme.
Listen here: https://t.co/RwcPGtVm00 #WCTOH2018 #NoTobacco #WorldTBDay— WCTOH 2018 (@WCTOH2018) March 23, 2018
Following #WCTOH2018 @BloombergDotOrg reviews progress in global tobacco control. https://t.co/bKeCq1xKxQ
‘Reducing Tobacco Use, A Year in Review’ includes a podcast with @JLCastroGarcia on the impact of the MPOWER measures.— WCTOH 2018 (@WCTOH2018) March 20, 2018
Academics from the Tobacco Control Research Group (@BathTR) and @BathSofM visited South Africa earlier this month to share their research with the World Conference on Tobacco or Health. #WCTOH2018 See more: https://t.co/Fp5FXXubsp pic.twitter.com/HGTOVbpkMK
— University of Bath (@UniofBath) March 19, 2018
12% of deaths among those over age 30 are caused by tobacco.
Say #NoTobacco 🛑 #WCTOH2018 via @WHO https://t.co/yel1WcBsvi pic.twitter.com/CvS2viDsX8
— UN Geneva (@UNGeneva) March 18, 2018
The WFPHA has signed the Cape Town Declaration on Human Rights and a Tobacco-free World, the product of the #WCTOH2018. We reiterate our commitment to the #GlobalCharter and its urgent call for political acknowledgement of the public’s health, specifically the tobacco threat. pic.twitter.com/DyT5SKBG88
— WFPHA (@WFPHA_FMASP) March 16, 2018