Tobacco control

Tobacco control is a field of international public health science, policy and practice dedicated to addressing tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes. Since most cigarettes and cigars and hookahs contain or use tobacco, tobacco control also addresses these products. Tobacco control is a priority area for the World Health Organization (WHO) as a part of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. References to a tobacco control movement may have either positive or negative connotations, depending upon the commentator.

Tobacco control aims to reduce the prevalence of tobacco and nicotine use and this is measured with the "age-standardized prevalence of current tobacco use among persons aged 15 years and older". E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco itself, but often contain nicotine, and are thus often are considered within the context of tobacco control.

Connotations

The tobacco control field comprises the activity of disparate health, policy and legal research and reform advocacy bodies across the world. These took time to coalesce into a sufficiently organised coalition to advance such measures as the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and the first article of the first edition of the Tobacco Control journal suggested that developing as a diffusely organised movement was indeed necessary in order to bring about effective action to address the health effects of tobacco use.

The tobacco control movement has also been referred to as an anti-smoking movement by some who disagree with its aims, as documented in internal tobacco industry memoranda.

Early history

The first attempts to prohibit the use of tobacco followed soon after the introduction of tobacco to Europe.