SDG #3 is to “To ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.”
Within SDG #3 are 13 targets, of which we here focus on Target 3.a:
Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate
Target 3.a has one indicator:
Indicator 3.a.1: Age-standardized prevalence of current tobacco use among persons aged 15 years and older
The World Health Organisation FCTC, or Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, is an international treaty overseen by the World Health Organisation, adopted in 2005 at the 56th World Health Assembly, which exists alongside the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, a treaty aiming to eliminate the illicit trade of tobacco. Another program within the WHO working toward raising awareness of tobacco’s threats and ways to reduce it’s use is the Tobacco Free Initiative.
In the West, we’re most familiar with tobacco in the form of cigarettes, but let’s take a look around the world to see how different cultures adapt the plant from the nightshade family belonging to the genus Nicotiana. According to the definitions of this target and its indicator, tobacco includes such applications as Indonesian kretek, which is blended with cloves, and snus, popular in Sweden and Norway, which is a form of dipping tobacco, placed between the lip and the gum, similar to naswar in Afghanistan, or toombak in Sudan. Dipping tobacco poses a threat of cancer of the mouth and throat.
Smokeless forms of tobacco go by many names throughout India and South Asia. One of these is gutkha, a combination of tobacco and calcium hydroxide; catechu, which is an extract from the tree Senegalia catechu; nuts from the areca palm tree; and leaves of the betel tree. Though smokeless, these products still pose a medical threat and can cause cancer. This preparation can also be made without tobacco, whereby it’s known as paan, or betel nut chewing, though still poses a cancer risk without the inclusion of tobacco.
The indigenous Yup’ik people of Alaska and Russian Far East use a smokeless tobacco product known as iq’mik, which poses a risk of heart disease, stroke and metabolic disorders such as diabetes and liver disease.
The FCTC reports on global progress to lower the trends of the prevalence of tobacco use. This data shows the global share of tobacco use is 22% as of 2020, not much further down than rate of 24% at the time of the SDGs adoption in 2015.
