According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 8 million people are killed by tobacco each year.

Unfortunately, most tobacco-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, areas that are targets of intensive tobacco industry marketing. But the good news is that the scale of this human tragedy is preventable.

The Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use at Bloomberg Philanthropies works with national and local governments in more than 110 countries to help implement measures to protect people from harm, such as creating smoke-free public places, banning tobacco advertising, and increasing tax on tobacco products. This initiative builds on Mike Bloomberg's successful efforts in reducing smoking rates during his time as mayor of New York City. Since the launch of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use in 2007, global smoking rates have fallen from 22.7% to 17.5%. 

While we're making strides to save lives around the world, there's still work to be done in the face of new challenges, such as the rise in flavored tobacco products and e-cigarette use among teens in the U.S.

On this episode, Katherine Oliver sits down with Betsy Fuller, who is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies' team working to reduce tobacco use, to discuss our tobacco control work in the Philippines, how the country is working to combat youth vaping, and to share an update on global smoking rates around the world.