World No Tobacco Day Celebrated Across the World

15th June 2010

North Africa program “Smoke-free at Work” initiative On World No Tobacco Day, hundreds of youth from Tunisia and Algeria gathered at one of the many community activism events organized by a handful of Youth Advocacy Leaders, as part of the “Smoke-free at Work” Initiative (or “Travaillons Sans Fumée”, its name in French), to raise awareness around the dangers of secondhand smoke in the workplace. Near Sousse, Tunisia, 120 youth gathered at the Youth Center of Akouda to take part in several workshops, which focused on the topic of women and smoking. They also highlighted the fact that tobacco kills one person every 6 seconds worldwide (see photo), thus joining a worldwide youth movement that strives to call attention to this deadly statistic. Since 2008, the American Cancer Society has been leading the “Travaillons Sans Fumée” initiative in North Africa. This initiative targets workplaces in Algeria and Tunisia to become smoke-free, in order to protect the health of non-smokers and workers at large. In the long-term goals, this program aims to identify key advocates and NGOs who can drive policy change. The “Travaillons Sans Fumée” program in North Africa consists of a partnership between the Society and 7 NGOs in Algeria and Tunisia with a shared vision of a smoke-free society to better protect the health of all. The Society also provides trainings in tobacco control, advocacy, media and communications, as well as program and campaign planning. To date, 45 workplaces have been targeted in the two participating countries, which means about 20,000 workers are on their way to being protected from secondhand smoke at work. For more information, visit the “Travaillons Sans Fumée” website at: www.sansfumee.org. With Courtesy to the American Cancer Society (ACS) for providing this news item.