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Bloomberg and Gates on anti-tobacco crusade
Macau News.Net
Wednesday 23rd July, 2008
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates have pledged US$375 million against global tobacco.
The billionaires have said the money will go to anti-smoking groups in all countries to what they say is a tobacco epidemic.
Bloomberg, who managed New York’s smoking ban in 2002, is adding US$250 million over four years to the program.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will invest $125 million over the next four years.
Bill Gates, at his first public event since he left his full-time executive role at Microsoft in June, said by 2030, more than 80 percent of worldwide tobacco-related deaths would occur in low and middle-income countries compared to half today.
He said poor nations would benefit from the anti-tobacco funding, allowing government-backed incentives such as higher taxes on tobacco and bans on advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
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