Preventive approach to tobacco-related diseases

The prevention of tobacco-related diseases should involve the combined efforts of many different segments of science, medicine, education, and of society as such. It needs to begin with efforts to prevent children from starting to smoke. School health education on smoking and other risk factors that relate to health, need to become an integral and consistent part of school education. We shall demonstrate from the KYB (Know Your Body) school health education program, how such efforts could be advanced. In respect to the adult population, media must be utilized to constantly inform the public of the risk involved in smoking. Smoke cessation clinics should become an integral part of every hospital and health care center. We will show how such smoke cessation programs can lead to highly cost effective results. The third arm of the triad to reduce smoke-related diseases, relates to the low yield cigarette. There is evidence that reduction of the tar yield of a cigarette will, in spite of compensatory smoking habits of such cigarettes, reduce risk of lung and larynx cancer. No such reduction in risk, however, has been shown for cardiovascular disease, indicating different threshold levels for smoke components relating to cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Since tobacco-related diseases continue to make a major impact on the health in both developed and developing nations, increasing attention needs to be given to preventive approaches to tobacco usage.