In 2016, tobacco use caused more than seven million deaths worldwide. Most of these deaths (6.3 million) were attributable to cigarette smoking, followed by second-hand smoke (884,000 deaths).  If current trends continue, smoking-related death rates are expected to increase for the decades to come in many low- and middle-income countries. (The Tobacco Atlas)

Since 2005, Bloomberg Philanthropies has committed more than US$1.58 billion to support an initiative to reduce tobacco use in low- and middle-income countries. 

A priority of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use is a Grants Program jointly managed and run by Vital Strategies (VS) and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK). 

The Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use is implemented though its partner organizations: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Vital Strategies, and the World Health Organization.