NEW DELHI: The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the ‘Quit Tobacco App’ to help people give up the use of tobacco in all forms - including smokeless and other newer products.
“Tobacco is deadly in every form. Innovative approaches such as this app are much needed to support people to give up tobacco, which they may be aware is harmful, but are unable to quit for various reasons,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO, South-East Asia Region, launching the app.
The app, the first such by WHO and the first that targets all forms of tobacco, helps users to identify the triggers, set their targets, manage cravings, and stay focused to quit smoking.
Tobacco is the world’s leading cause of preventable death and kills nearly 8 million persons every year. It claims 1.6 million lives in the WHO South-East Asia Region, amongst the largest producers and consumers of tobacco products.
Tobacco use is a significant risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCD), including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung diseases, and diabetes. Tobacco users are at higher risk of complication and severe infection in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
As per the WHO Global Report on Trends in Prevalence of Tobacco Use 2000-2025 (4th edition, 2021) WHO South-East Asia Region recorded the fastest decline in tobacco use but continued to have the highest 432 million tobacco users, or 29% of its population.
The region has 266 million smokeless tobacco users of the 355 million globally. The growing use of new and emerging products such as electronic nicotine delivery systems/ e-cigarettes sheesha/hookah are additional challenges to tobacco control.
The WHO Quit Tobacco App, launched during WHO’s year-long ‘Commit to quit’ campaign, is the latest tobacco control initiative.