Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use

WLF is one of five partners implementing the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use (BI) of Bloomberg Philanthropies, which promotes evidence-based tobacco control mass media interventions, especially in low- and middle-income countries where the burden is heaviest.

Established in 2006 by Michael Bloomberg, philanthropist and New York City Mayor, the Bloomberg Initiative builds in-country capacity by:

● Improving programs designed to help smokers quit and to prevent children from starting.
● Supporting public policies that reduce smoking, including taxation, preventing smuggling, re-casting tobacco’s image, and mandating smoke-free environments.
● Educating communities about the harms of tobacco and supporting tobacco control advocacy.
● Monitoring global tobacco use through rigorous research, evaluation and data collection.

In 2012 WLF distributed BI grants, as well as funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to the following sub-grantees:

The other BI partners are the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the World Health Organization, and The Union.

Grants

Building Political Will for Tobacco Taxes
Tax policies are a proven tool for reducing tobacco use, but their implementation requires political commitment. WLF supports research demonstrating the value of tobacco taxes and is recruits fiscal policy experts to advance that work...

Framework Convention Alliance: The Voice of Civil Society
Through the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), more than 350 non-government organizations provide leadership, technical expertise, and logistical support for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control...

International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease: Promoting Global Efforts
Committed to global lung health since its founding in 1920, The Union engages in training, technical assistance, and scientific research and funds tobacco control activities in low- and middle-income countries...

Mass Media Campaigns: Hard-Hitting and Evidence-Based
Hard-hitting, visually explicit messages are one of the most effective tools available to discourage smoking, alter attitudes and behavior towards tobacco, and generate support for smoke-free environments, higher taxes, and other proven tobacco control policies...

World Health Organization: MPOWER Drives Tobacco Control
WHO advances tobacco control by embracing the MPOWER framework as the structure for implementing the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The six evidence-based MPOWER strategies...