Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco harm equally! 

Uzbekistan should implement strong tobacco measures to reduce youth access and prevalence of cigarette and smokeless tobacco use.

These were the main messages of the press conference held on October 14 in the World Bank’s Uzbekistan country office

The press conference was opened by Martin Raiser, WB Country Manager for Uzbekistan. He said that the World Bank has been working with the Ministry of Health on efforts to reduce both communicable and non-communicable diseases in the country. Based on available health indicators, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), a leading cause of tobacco-attributable deaths worldwide, are also the leading cause of death in Uzbekistan. The Bank supports the development of a National Tobacco Strategy, which would identify effective tobacco control measures and activities tailored to the needs of Uzbekistan. He introduced Joana Godinho Senior Health Specialist and Dr. Ayda A. Yurekli, Senior Health Economist at WHO, Tobacco Free Initiative who had made an assessment of the epidemiology of smoking in the country and tobacco control initiatives in Uzbekistan.

Dr. Ayda A. Yurekli presented the findings of her report which includes an evaluation of tobacco control environment in Uzbekistan; and recommendations for appropriate tobacco control activities or pilot projects that could be incorporated into ongoing health promotion activities, and be supported by various sources.

She also informed the journalists that the report data would assist the Ministry of Health finalizing the National Plan for Tobacco Control

Special focus in her presentation was made on smokeless tobacco, specifically on Nasway – a widely used smokeless tobacco product in Uzbekistan, which is consumed without burning the product, and often placed in the mouth, cheek or lip and sucked. Today, we have sufficient evidence that the use of smokeless tobacco also damages to human health and contribute to cancers of the oral cavity and the risks of other head and neck cancers.  Smokeless tobacco use also causes a number of noncancerous oral conditions and can lead to nicotine addiction similar to that produced by cigarette smoking.

The press conference ended with a questions and answers session.

Available documents:
Presentation - English version (230KB, MS PowerPoint)
Presentation - Russian version (260KB, MS PowerPoint)