Advancing tobacco control during the COVID-19 pandemic: MPOWER implementation tobacco free initiative

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic is posing a major challenge to global public health and has had a devastating impact on health systems as countries are forced to divert valuable resources to address this one health emergency. Advancing tobacco control during the COVID-19 pandemic urges countries not to relax tobacco control efforts as they grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic as evidence continues to mount that smoking and tobacco-related noncommunicable diseases confer a higher risk for worse outcomes with COVID-19. The experience of some countries in showing that an unprecedented number of smokers have quit during the pandemic presents an opportune moment to push forward the tobacco control agenda to mitigate the adverse health impacts of COVID-19 and sustain implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and MPOWER strategies.