Worldwide, tobacco use is a major cause of illness and premature death, and contributes to 50% of deaths due to lung disease. The majority (80%) of all tobacco users in the world reside in low- and middle-income countries, and this emphasises the important role that needs to be played by developing countries to reduce the global burden of tobaccorelated diseases.

Tobacco use in Sudan includes both smoking (mainly cigarettes but also water pipe) and snuff dipping, using a traditional and highly addictive form of moist oral snuff called toombak. Few women admit to tobacco use due to cultural norms in the society, and among males the estimated prevalence is around 20%.

This guide is a description of Sudan's experience (as a developing country) in fighting tobacco use and participating in global tobacco research. Publication of this Guide was made possible thanks to the support of the World Bank.

Exposure to tobacco smoke has been shown to cause or exacerbate a wide variety of cancers, infections, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Smoking is the most important risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.
This new Union Guide, Tobacco Cessation Interventions for Tuberculosis Patients: A Guide for Low-Income Countries, specifically addresses the association between tobacco smoke and tuberculosis, and how tuberculosis patients can be helped to discontinue tobacco use. It in no way implies that tuberculosis is primarily caused by tobacco smoking, or that only tuberculosis patients would benefit from a tobacco cessation intervention. While tuberculosis patients have been selected as the intervention target, the same principles apply to other patients and to tobacco users wherever they may be encountered.
This technical guide was written to provide assistance to health service providers caring for tuberculosis patients to help their patients to stop using tobacco. It starts with an overview of the relationship between tobacco smoking and tuberculosis and is followed by a general overview about tobacco use. It then looks at the topic of tobacco cessation interventions: how to create the correct environment, possible methods to follow, more intensive cognitive behaviour strategies for patients and suggested monitoring documents and procedures.
Publication of this guide was made possible thanks to the support of the World Bank.

This guide for health professionals was written in response to the need for aid in preventing tobacco use. It is similar to other guides produced by the Union in that it suggests an implementation framework for the health district with an emphasis on structure, management and evaluation of cessation interventions with patients. Other areas covered in the guide include a framework for assessing tobacco use and its consequences in the population, assessing legislation and needs for advocacy and developing and assessing prevention programmes.