Tobacco kills up to half of its long-term users, resulting in more than 8.7 million deaths every year.¹ Around 7.4 million deaths are through direct consumption and 1.3 million are attributable to secondhand smoke exposure, including among infants and children.^1,2 Tobacco use costs the global economy more than a trillion US dollars annually, due to medical expenses and lost productivity. Investing in tobacco control can help countries to improve health, reduce the economic burden from tobacco and accelerate progress across the 2030 Agenda.

Already, 183 countries have reaffirmed the right to health by becoming Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The WHO FCTC is a legally binding global treaty that was developed in response to the tobacco epidemic and currently covers more than 90 percent of the world’s population.