World Mental Health Day 2009
October 10th
Varje år tar ca 1 miljon människor livet av sig, en person varje 40 sekunder. Självmord ökar världen över, det är den tredje vanligaste dödsorsaken bland åldrarna 15-44 år. Självmord ökar bland yngre. (fakta från WHO)
"Mental Health in Primary Care:
Enhancing Treatment and Promoting Mental Health"
Dear Scophians from around the world!
Mental health is still a neglected aspect of health, although neuropsychiatric disease affects 20% of humanity. Still stigmatized by our societies, celebrating the World Mental Health Day has never been more relevant and important to make this important message heard.
This day is an opportunity for every local community to give visibility to mental health issues, debunk false ideas for mental health and advocate for the human rights of patients with mental health troubles.
The 2009 WMHDAY Material is now available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese (simplified, traditional) ,Hindi, Japanese and Russian http://www.wfmh. org/09world_ mental_health_ day_2009. htm
If you would like to be on the mailing list to receive the 2009 WMHDAY CD – please send your full mailing address to
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For more informations on how scophians are getting organized to celebrate WMHD, please contact me : anthony.gifuni@gmail.com
Big orange hugs and keep your minds balanced and healthy!!!
Higher Tobacco Taxes Could Save 115 Million Lives
A study published in Nature Reviews Cancer found that tripling tobacco taxes could deter new smokers, rapidly increase cessation rates, and save at least 115 million lives by 2050. The study finds that other tobacco control measures such as public education campaigns, smoke-free laws, marketing bans and cessation treatments are also effective in reducing tobacco use.
Study Findings
· Worldwide, smoking causes approximately 5-6 million deaths per year, including 31% of all cancer deaths in middle-aged men and 6% of all cancer deaths in middle-aged women.
· Countries such as France that have aggressively used higher taxes to curb smoking have reduced consumption much faster than countries that have not aggressively increased tobacco taxes.
· In low- and middle-income countries, a 10% increase in tobacco prices reduces consumption by approximately 8%, which is twice the effect seen in high-income countries.
· Tripling world tobacco taxes would increase average tobacco prices by 70% and save at least 115 million lives by 2050.
Key Messages
· Aggressively increasing the price of tobacco through higher taxes is a highly effective strategy to reduce tobacco use.
· Higher tobacco taxes must be part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce tobacco use that includes 100% smoke-free policies, strong warning labels, effective public education campaigns and complete bans on tobacco marketing.
Full citation: Jha P. Avoidable global cancer deaths and total deaths from smoking. Nature Reviews Cancer. 2009;9:655-664.
If you have questions about the study or how you may use it in your advocacy efforts, please email Miranda Wang at research@tobaccofre ecenter.org.
Om IFMSA 
