title: Strengthening government tobacco control in low- and middle-income countries: a 'must do' for lung health progress.
abstract: Tobacco control in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) must gather pace in the coming decade to reverse the increasing prevalence of tobacco use and counter the intensive development of LMIC markets by the tobacco industry. If unchecked, this could undermine wider developments and gains in lung health, for example for people with tuberculosis (TB), TB and human immunodeficiency virus co-infection, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The issue of sustainability for tobacco control in LMICs is also pressing. This perspective article proposes that greater engagement with governments at the national and sub-national levels to strengthen their capacity for effective tobacco control, scale up action and sustain tobacco control is critical. There is also considerable scope to widen effort and impact by building tobacco control into broader initiatives, particularly into those relating to lung health. This paper draws on examples from the tobacco control technical support and capacity building in LMICs of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, outlines the rationale for such an approach and addresses perceived disadvantages, limitations and barriers. Priority actions and suggestions for how these can best be applied in practice are proposed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Tobacco Control, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Edinburgh, UK. ajackson-morris@theunion.org
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jackson-Morris
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Latif
mesh_terms: D003906:Developing Countries; D033161:Government Regulation; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011634:Public Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D019460:Tobacco Industry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*