Tobacco kills almost 14,000 people every day. Unless urgent action is taken, tobacco will kill 10 million people a year by 2020, 70 percent of them in developing countries.
To address this global public health crisis, Michael R. Bloomberg, philanthropist and mayor of New York City, has launched a $125 million initiative to combat tobacco use in low and middle-income countries, where more than two-thirds of the world's smokers live.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has been designated as one of five partner organizations to coordinate activities under this initiative, working with governments and non-governmental organizations to implement effective measures to reduce tobacco use.
Other partners in this initiative are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the World Health Organization and the World Lung Foundation.
As part of this initiative, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has established the International Resource Center to support governments and non-governmental organizations around the world in promoting, adopting, and implementing tobacco control policies.
Also as part of this initiative, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease are working together to provide grants to governments and non-governmental organizations in low and middle-income countries to accelerate progress in tobacco control.