Partnering to Address the Global Leading Cause of Preventable Death

World No Tobacco Day is an important reminder of the imperative to address the leading cause of preventable death in the world. Bloomberg Philanthropies is proud to support work to reduce tobacco use, prevent tobacco-related illness and save lives since 2005, alongside a global network of expert partners.

Through the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, we’re working with the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners around the world to advance the MPOWER measures, effective policies for reducing tobacco use – these include introducing smoke-free public places and increasing taxes on tobacco products and more. In February, we announced an additional commitment of $420 million over four years – for a total investment of $1.58 billion – with over half of the new funding for work in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and over a quarter targeting e-cigarette use among children in the United States.

Since the launch of the Initiative in 2007, global smoking rates have fallen from 22.7% to 17.5%. Global cigarette sales have also plummeted, with 750 billion fewer cigarettes sold in 2021 compared to 2012.

Our Partnerships in Action

This impact wouldn’t be possible without our partnerships across local and national governments, nongovernmental organizations, philanthropies and advocacy groups.

In U.S. cities and states, we support efforts to ban flavored tobacco products and flavored e-cigarettes. Late last year, Californians voted “yes” on Proposition 31, maintaining the state legislature’s 2020 ban on flavored tobacco products. With local partners, Mike Bloomberg supported this major victory against the tobacco industry’s multi-million-dollar effort to keep flavored tobacco products on the shelves.

Despite this progress, the fight’s not over. The tobacco industry continues to look for new ways to addict another generation of young people; efforts Mike called “despicable” and vowed to “fight back” in an op-ed with The Hill.

Tobacco control is also a focus of the Partnership for Healthy Cities, a prestigious global network of 70 cities we’ve convened with Vital Strategies and WHO to prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries through proven interventions. The Partnership currently has seven members working to create smoke-free cities. We’re working with mayors to introduce, pass and enforce legislation and regulation to make all indoor public places, workplaces and public transport 100% smoke-free.

Among these cities, Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom recently announced the designation of the city’s first smoke-free park, following a Partnership-supported campaign to enlist public input into the decision.

With the support of our partners and so many others committed to protecting people around the world – Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), the CDC Foundation, Vital Strategies, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The University of Illinois at Chicago – we aim to save 100 million lives from tobacco use by 2050.