If you can't stop smoking by your own volition, maybe Bill Gates and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg can give you a little push (by way of $500 MILLION).
The dynamo duo announced today that they will spend $500 million to stop people around the world from smoking, the New York Times reported.
Mr. Bloomberg's foundation, the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, will commit $250 million over four years in addition to the $125 million he announced two years ago. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will allocate $125 million over five years.
The campaign will concentrate on five countries where most of the world's smokers live: China, India, Indonesia, Russia and Bangladesh.
"The $500 million would be spent on a multipronged campaign - nicknamed Mpower - that Mr. Bloomberg and Dr. Margaret Chan, director of the health organization, outlined in February," the New York Times reported. "It coordinates efforts by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, the health organization, the World Lung Foundation, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids."
This is a huge development; stay tuned for a response from our expert. Click here to read the rest of the story.
