The Threats of Globalization on Global Public Health with Specific Reference to Tobacco Control

摘要

The context of Globalization in health is viewed as a concerted global effort towards the prevention, elimination and eradication of disease, and the promotion of human health worldwide. As a result, the domestic and international spheres of public health policy are becoming more intertwined and inseparable. The spread of global tobacco products may indicate one of the instances of globalization of the spread of non-communicable diseases. The tobacco epidemic kills around six million people a year, and more than five million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco consumption, while more than 600 000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. This is one of the major public health challenges ever faced in the world. Tobacco and Cigarette smoking have negative effect on nearly every organ of the body, causes many diseases, and reduces the health of smokers in general. Smoking and passive smoking cause more than 20 major categories of fatal and disabling disease, including lung and other cancers. It is projected that tobacco use will cause 8.4 million deaths by 2020, 70% of which will occur in developing countries. Of the 100 million projected tobacco-related deaths over the next 20 years, about half will be of people in the productive ages of 35-69. In general, 9% of women in developing countries and about 22% in developed countries currently smoke. Without robust and sustained initiatives, these figures are expected to rise dramatically, with today's 250 million women smokers rising to 340 million by 2020. This article discusses the key problems and opportunities of globalization and how it could be used to control tobacco production within the global public health.