In July 2013, the Pacific Ministers of Health adopted the Tobacco Free Pacific goal (<5% adult tobacco use) for each Pacific island to achieve by 2025.

Overview of the tobacco epidemic

Tobacco use fuels the NCD crisis globally, and the Pacific is no exception.

Tobacco use is the major cause of preventable premature death in many Pacific islands.

The tobacco use prevalence and prevalence of exposure to second-hand smoke in the Pacific are very high.

Healthy Islandsare

Tobacco Free Islands

Tobacco Free Pacific 2025It can be done!

For example, over 70% of men in one Pacific island smoke, while in another, close to 55% of women smoke.

Nonsmokers are also burdened. As much as 76% of young people are exposed to second-hand smoke inside the home and 86% outside the home in the Pacific.

Action needs to be taken to prevent and reduce tobacco use in order to save lives.

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing nearly six million people each year.

More than five million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second- hand smoke.

Tobacco use is the most preventable of leading causes of adult death and disease in the Pacific and is a main risk factor for major noncommunicable diseases (NCD) including cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory disease.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is a public health treaty that if fully implemented, has the potential to save over 10 million lives per year.

Countries that signed up to WHO FCTC, including all Pacific island countries, are obliged to implement tobacco control measures such as comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; protection from exposure to tobacco smoke through tobacco free settings; packaging and labeling through strong health warnings on all tobacco products; and more.

Tobacco Free Pacific 2025 Tobacco use fuels the Pacific NCD crisis

Since 2012, Cook Islands, Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu have increased taxes on tobacco products.Several Pacific islands such as French Polynesia, Kiri-bati, New Caledonia, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna have expanded tobacco free settings to include public market places, schools, hospitals, sports stadiums, traditional meeting places, and other public settings in order to protect people from the dangers of second-hand smoke.Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu have held workshops to increase awareness among stakeholders including policymakers about tobacco industry interference and how to counter it.Cook islands, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Fiji, Guam, and Marshall Islands have

To learn more, request technical support for tobacco control efforts, or join the Tobacco Free Pacific Network 2025, please visit: http://www.wpro.who.int/southpacific/tfp2025 or e-mail us at: TFP2025Network@gmail.com

Progress in Pacific tobacco control

Nadi Town Declared Smoke Free town by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Fiji, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau

1. Raise tobacco taxes. This will decrease tobacco use, which saves lives, and increases revenue. It is a proven method to stop young people from smoking and to reduce the amount consumed by occasional smokers. Excise tax on all tobacco products should be at least 70% of the final retail price.2. Protect from second hand smoke through tobacco free settings. Second-hand smoke kills. We need tobacco free places to protect innocent people. Even if met with resistance initially, tobacco free set tings become readily accepted and do not negatively impact revenue for restaurants, bars/clubs, and hotels.3. Prevent tobacco industry interference. The tobacco industry is working against us. The Pacific islands are not too small for the tobacco industry to target.

4. Establish cessation services. The population-level tobacco control interventions such as bans on smoking in public places, and tobacco tax increases currently taking effect in the Pacific means more tobacco users will seek cessation services.5. Monitor the tobacco use epidemic. Monitoring the progress in tobacco control through appropriately spaced surveillance activities is essential to tracking progress and measuring the impact of interventions. Pacific islands are encouraged to use “standardized” questions that will allow for better comparability across islands.6. Strengthen and enforce tobacco control legislation. Comprehensive enforcement of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control-com pliant legislation is necessary to ensure a supportive environment for tobacco control.

Advocacy for smoke free Maneabas in Kiribati

Actions to scale up tobacco control in the Pacific

trained health care and public health professionals to provide brief tobacco cessation intervention to help people quit using tobacco.All Pacific islands that have conducted WHO NCD Stepwise surveys such as American Samoa, Niue, and Tuvalu have included tobacco use questions. Many have conducted Global Youth Tobacco Surveys and/or Global School based Health Surveys which include tobacco use and exposure items.Several Pacific islands including Federated States of Mi-cronesia and Nauru have planned or developed tobacco control enforcement strategies to ensure comprehensive implementation of tobacco control laws and policies.