This annual event educates the public about the dangers of smoking, tobacco companies' business practices, what the WHO is doing to combat the tobacco epidemic, and what people all over the world can do to assert their right to health and a healthy lifestyle, as well as to protect future generations.

In 1987, the World Health Organization's Member States established World No Tobacco Day to raise global awareness of the tobacco pandemic and the needless death and disease it causes. The World Health Assembly enacted Resolution WHA40.38 in 1987, designating April 7, 1988, as "a world no-smoking day." In 1988, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution WHA42.19, calling for the annual commemoration of World No Tobacco Day on May 31.

The tobacco industry's negative impact on the environment is extensive and expanding, putting undue strain on our planet's already limited resources and vulnerable ecosystems.

Through the cultivation, production, distribution, consumption, and post-consumer waste, tobacco kills approximately 8 million people each year and devastates our ecosystem, further damaging human health.

According to the WHO, tobacco usage has a negative influence on the environment around the world. The World Health Organization states in a fact sheet that it is linked to large-scale deforestation and biodiversity loss, especially wildlife. It is also responsible for the "exhaustion of fossil fuel and metal resources" in addition to the depletion of the planet's water. "Desertification and soil fertility depletion," it claims.

Among the issues are "exuberant emission of greenhouse gases, contamination of drinking water, and emission of toxicants into the air via direct, second-, and third-hand smoke."

 "The tobacco industry's destructive impact on the environment is huge and expanding," according to the WHO, "putting unnecessary strain on our planet's already finite resources and vulnerable ecosystems."

The World Health Organization recognizes nations, organizations, and individuals for their efforts and contributions to reducing tobacco use every year. The WHO has chosen Jharkhand as the recipient of the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) Award-2022 this year. India has a National Tobacco Control Program in place to educate people about the dangers of tobacco use. It also assists in the formulation of policies and activities that may aid the government in achieving its goal. In 2012, the program was expanded to include Jharkhand.