38 / 68
Every year, 7 million people die around the world from diseases
linked to smoking, which makes it vital to launch an intensive fight
against tobacco products. Prof. Dr. Toker Ergüder, Director of the Non-
communicable Diseases Program in the World Health Organization
Country Office in Turkey, underlined the importance of the fight against
tobacco industry, saying “The tobacco industry is the most lethal and
profitable industry in the world.”
Can you summarize the global
stance on tobacco addiction?
Tobacco use is the leading preventable
cause of death in Turkey and around
the world, and the leading driver
of the spread of this fatal tobacco
epidemic is the tobacco sector. Today,
there are many effective methods and
studies into the prevention of tobacco
addiction, although it should first be
noted that the fight against tobacco
use is not a fight against smokers. In
fact, we are trying to help smokers
quit smoking, and to help them
continue their lives free of addiction.
Having said that, our main fight is
against cigarette companies and the
tobacco industry. We can say that the
tobacco industry is the most lethal
and profitable industry in the world,
and the figures support this thesis.
In 2017, retail cigarette sales reached
approximately 700 billion USD , which
means that 5.4 trillion cigarettes were
sold that year. The sole purpose of the
tobacco industry is to open the doors
of addiction by introducing children
and adolescents to smoking, just a
single breath of tobacco, before they
reach puberty. The tobacco industry
realizes its aggressive campaigns and
strategies in line with its malicious
ambitions.
Approximately 7 million people die
around the globe annually due to
smoking related diseases, with 6
million people dying as a direct result
of smoking, and 1 million due to their
exposure to cigarette smoke. Tobacco
use is a risk factor in six out of the
eight most common causes of death
in the world. Ischemic heart diseases,
cerebrovascular
diseases,
lower
respiratory tract infections, chronic
lung diseases, tuberculosis and all
lung cancers lead to smoking-related
deaths. Oral and oropharyngeal
cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach
cancer and lung cancer in particular
take an important place in smoking-
related deaths.
The high numbers of smokers in
developing
and
underdeveloped
countries increase the smoking-
related mortality rates in these
countries. In fact, if we look from the
global perspective, we see that the
prevalence of smoking is decreasing,
though this should not mislead those
engaged in the fight against addiction.
While smoking rates may have
decreased especially in developed
countries, Europe still has the highest
smoking rates among theWorldHealth
Organization regions.
What kind of activities are
planned and conducted to protect
community and public health?
As a result of the efforts that began in
1998, the World Health Organization
Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control
entered
into
force
in
2005. Being the United Nation’s
first global framework convention
on public health, the convention
was
signed
by
181
countries.
Interview by: Fatıma Aydın
PROF. DR.
TOKER ERGÜDER:
“WE NEED TO FIGHT
AGAINST THE TOBACCO
INDUSTRY”
Prof. Dr. Toker Ergüder is a medical doctor
and public health specialist who works as
the Director of the Non-communicable
Diseases Program in the World Health
Organization Country Office in Turkey. He
also continues to work as a lecturer in the
Department of Public Health, Gülhane
Faculty of Medicine, University of Medical
Sciences. He offers technical support to
the Ministry of Health, to NGOs and to
other relevant organizations related to
the prevention, control and management
of non-communicable diseases in Turkey,
and to the fight against tobacco use. He is
a member of the Green Crescent Scientific
Committee. Before undertaking various
duties in the World Health Organization,
he worked in the Ministry of Health
between 2002 and 2007 and established
the Department of Fight Against Tobacco.
In 2003, he started working relentlessly
to have Turkey sign the Tobacco Control
Framework Convention and in the creation
of a National Tobacco Control Program. In
2007, he made significant contributions
to the updating of Law No. 4207, turning
Turkey into a smoke-free zone, upon the
instruction of President Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan.
WHO IS PROF. DR. TOKER ERGÜDER?
36