World No Tobacco Day 31 May 2023: Grow food, not tobacco

ABOUT WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY 2023

World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is on Tuesday 31 May 2023. The World Health Organization (WHO) theme for WNTD 2023 is Grow food, not tobacco. The campaign encourages governments to end tobacco growing subsidies and use the savings to support farmers to switch to more sustainable crops that improve food security and nutrition.

This WNTD 2023, Quit is encouraging people who care about the environment and social justice to quit smoking or vaping.

• Tobacco is grown in over 124 countries, taking up land that could be used to grow crops that feed millions of people, driving down food insecurity

• Tobacco is not a highly profitable crop for farmers or governments, despite the tobacco industry exaggerating its economic importance

• Shifting from tobacco to nutritious food crops has the potential to feed millions of families and improve the livelihoods of farming communities globally

• The tobacco industry is using greenwashing to pretend it cares about the environment

• The only way to stop the environmental damage caused by the production and use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes is to stop using the products.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

To stop the damage, start quitting:

This WNTD2023, we're encouraging people who care about the environment and social justice to quit smoking or vaping. And we're here to help support you, wherever you are on your quitting journey. Research shows the best way to quit is to:

1. talk to Quitline (13 7848). Quitline counsellors help you build and keep up your motivation to quit and can help you create a stop smoking plan that suits you. Quitline counsellors can also support you if you are using e-cigarettes to stop smoking and can help you stop vaping.

2. use stop smoking medication, like the nicotine patch and gum, to help manage symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.

3. speak with your GP. Your GP can discuss your options and give you a script for cheaper stop smoking medication.

Learn more about the best way to quit and how we can help here.

Help spread the message:

You can help to spread the message by:

• Following us on social media and sharing the WNTD assets we post – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.

• Posting WHO's WNTD social media assets on your social media channels.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Sample post for Facebook or LinkedIn: 

Grow food, not tobacco is the theme for #WorldNoTobaccoDay 2023. Tobacco is grown in over 124 countries, taking up land that could be used to grow crops that feed millions of people, driving down food insecurity. Tobacco is not a highly profitable crop for farmers or governments, despite the tobacco industry exaggerating its economic importance. Shifting from tobacco to nutritious food crops has the potential to feed millions of families and improve the livelihoods of farming communities globally. The tobacco industry is using greenwashing to pretend it cares about the environment. The only way to stop the environmental damage and social justice impacts caused by the production and use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes is to stop using the products. Visit quit.org.au/articles/world-no-tobacco-day-31-may-2023/ for more.

Sample post for Twitter:

'Grow food, not tobacco' is @WHO's theme for #WorldNoTobaccoDay. Tobacco is grown in 124+ countries, taking up land that could be used to grow crops that feed millions of people, driving down food insecurity. See quit.org.au/articles/world-no-tobacco-day-31-may-2023