A High-Level Political Forum Virtual Side-Event on Tobacco Control and NCD Prevention

7 July, 2021 13:30 -15:00 CEST

In thinking about sustainable recovery from the ongoing pandemic and building back better, the importance of population-level preventive efforts cannot be understated in supporting healthy, resilient societies. This includes addressing significant risk factors, including tobacco use, and how these efforts contribute to the prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

Tobacco control is among the world’s leading preventable causes of death, killing over 8 million people each year, and an increasing majority of smokers live in low- and middle-income countries. Policies to reduce tobacco consumption, thereby also preventing associated NCDs, would improve not only health and wellbeing but also address SDG targets on poverty, education, pollution, land degradation, and more. At this time, however, most countries are unlikely to achieve SDG Targets 3.a and 3.4 on tobacco control and NCD-related mortality respectively.

The goal of this Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) and NCDA event, hosted on the sides of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, was to highlight the critical, cross-cutting role that tobacco control and NCD prevention need to play in contributing to sustainable development during and after the pandemic. This included showcasing positive examples of the inclusion of tobacco control and NCDs in COVID-19 recovery efforts.

Speakers include

- Nina Renshaw, NCD Alliance

- Leslie Rae Ferat, FCA

- Doug Webb, UNDP

- Ryan Forrest, FCA

- JeffreyDrope, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.