Implementation of WHO MPOWER package in the South-East Asia Region: a progress report

Message by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director World Health Organization, South-East Asia Region The World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2008 introduced MPOWER, a set of six evidence-based and cost-effective measures to facilitate the implementation of provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) at the ground level. These measures include monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies; protecting people from tobacco smoke; offering help to quit tobacco use; warning about the dangers of tobacco; enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and raising taxes on tobacco. WHO MPOWER measures have guided and assisted Member countries in reducing the demand for tobacco for nearly a decade. MPOWER has proven to be an internationally applicable and widely recognized summary of the essential elements of tobacco control policies. The “WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic” (GTCR) is a biennial report that reviews the status of tobacco control policy development and implementation around the world in the light of the MPOWER framework. Based on the published GTCR reports, this document maps the implementation of MPOWER measures in the countries of the South-East Asia Region. The document captures in detail the status of implementation of individual MPOWER measures over time and country factsheets attempt to provide a tentative roadmap by identifying some of the high impact and achievable action points for effective tobacco control in individual countries. The WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia is committed to assist its Member States in effectively implementing all MPOWER measures and, thus, in fulfilling the dream of a tobacco-free South-East Asia Region. This document is one such step in that direction. I sincerely hope that Member States would find this document helpful in their crusade against tobacco and in achieving time-bound goals and targets. Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh Regional Director WHO South-East Asia Region