Abstract: In The Lancet, Winston Abascal and colleagues present findings from their population-based trend analysis, which show a clear decrease in the prevalence of smoking in Uruguay between 2005 and 2011. 1 Abascal W Esteves E Goja B et al. Tobacco control campaign in Uruguay: a population-based trend analysis. Lancet. 2012; (published online Sept 14.)http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60826-5 PubMed Google Scholar They associate this decrease with the far-reaching tobacco control campaign launched in the country in 2005. The campaign included actions such as the banning of tobacco advertising, the banning of smoking in all enclosed public spaces, tax increases, and legislation requiring that pictograms with health warnings cover 80% of both the front and back of every cigarette pack. They recorded annual decreases in all three selected indicators: a 4·3% (95% CI 2·4–6·2) decrease in per-person tobacco consumption, an 8·0% (4·5–11·6) decrease in adolescent smoking prevalence, and a 3·3% (2·4–4·1) decrease in adult tobacco-use prevalence. For all three indicators, recorded decreases were much larger in Uruguay than they were in Argentina, the country the investigators chose as a control. These findings confirm the outstanding and consistent progress made by Uruguay's anti-tobacco policy. Tobacco control campaign in Uruguay: a population-based trend analysisUruguay's comprehensive tobacco-control campaign has been associated with a substantial, unprecedented decrease in tobacco use. Decreases in tobacco use in other low-income and middle-income countries of the magnitude seen in Uruguay would have a substantial effect on the future global burden of tobacco-related diseases. Full-Text PDF
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-09-14
Language: en
Type: letter
Indexed In: ['crossref', 'pubmed']
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Cited By Count: 4
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