© World Health Organization 2004
This handbook addresses the need to provide potential guidance for governments and ministries of health in developing their ability to effectively confront the tobacco epidemic. It contains three main sections. The Introduction presents the evolving definition of “national capacity”, identifies the types of capacities needed for effective tobacco control and outlines the key features of building capacity. Part I provides a descriptive overview of the tobacco epidemic. Part II focuses on the fundamental capacities necessary to empower countries to control the tobacco epidemic successfully. Finally, chapters on countering the tobacco industry, forming effective partnerships, monitoring and evaluating progress, and exchanging information and research provide valuable insights to improve tobacco control capacity.
