initiative 
Every May 31st, the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrates World No Tobacco Day. The WHO and associated organisations promote a worldwide 24-hour period of abstinence from tobacco. On this day, not only are we reminded of the overall health risks caused by tobacco, but various types of effective policies are also promoted to prevent its use.
The use of tobacco is associated with multiple systemic diseases, two of the main ones being periodontal disease and oral cancer. In the mouth, for example, smoke from tobacco is a direct irritant on oral mucosa, while nicotine has a vasoconstrictive effect on the gums.
Tobacco smoking is known to increase the risk for periodontal disease by 5-20 times1.
This link between tobacco smoking and periodontal disease, makes the role of Oral Health professionals essential for encouraging smokers to limit their use of tobacco or quit this habit completely.
Another objective of this day is to protect younger generations from the social, economic and environmental consequences of tobacco use, while also preventing the destructive impacts from exposure to second-hand smoke.
Therefore, we invite you to join us in this initiative to promote smoker education in relation to the effects of tobacco on Oral Health.
1. Bergström J. Tobacco smoking and chronic destructive periodontal disease. Odontology. 2004; 92(1):1-8.