More than 65,600 people die of tobacco use in Myanmar every year. Despite efforts, tobacco use is alarmingly high at 26.1% people smoking (43.8% men and 8.4% women), and 43.2% using smokeless tobacco (62.2% men and 24.1% women). Among young people, smoking prevalence is 11% (21% boys, 2% girls) and 6% smokeless tobacco use (11% boys, 2% girls).
Dr Kaung added that tobacco use siphoned Myanmar Kyat (MMK) 2.62 trillion from the national economy in 2016, which is equivalent to 3.3% of Myanmar's Gross Domestic Product. Strong evidence exists now that tobacco use causes an economic loss of US$ 1.4 trillion every year to global economy. With over 8 million deaths due to tobacco every year, and tobacco use also thwarting efforts of governments to progress on sustainable development, it is high time to prioritise tobacco control - even more so during a public-health emergency like Covid-19 pandemic.
Bobby Ramakant - CNS (Citizen News Service)
(Bobby Ramakant is a World Health Organization (WHO) Director General's WNTD Awardee and part of CNS (Citizen News Service) and Asha Parivar teams. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyRamakant or visit www.bit.ly/BobbyRamakant)
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