Bill Gates and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg are outraged at how many people in the world are still smoking, so they’ve made a pledge to invest $500 million in campaigns to get people around the world to butt out.
The billionaires are outraged that tobacco is projected to kill around one billion people in the 21st century, double that of the last century.
What’s interesting is that the new numbers come mostly from countries with mid-level to poor economies like Russia and Bangladesh.
Over the next five years, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $125 million and Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, will give $250 million to supplement his previous $125 million gift through the Bloomberg foundation.
“I’m an optimist, but I’m also a realist,” Bloomberg told Gates.
“All the money in the world will never eradicate tobacco, but this partnership underscores how much the tide is turning against this deadly epidemic.”
The $500 million campaign will be referred to as “Mpower.”
“It will urge governments to sharply raise tobacco taxes, prohibit smoking in public places, outlaw advertising to children and cigarette giveaways, start antismoking advertising campaigns and offer people nicotine patches or other help quitting,” the NY Times explains.
Stay tuned for some innovative ways to quite smoking!
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