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Dear Editor, In a recent article published in this journal, the authors iden- tified tobacco use as a significant contributor to the increasing incidence of dental caries among people in Indonesia [1]. To- bacco use is currently a major global public health problem, causing the direct and indirect deaths of over 8 million people yearly. Over 80% of global tobacco users live in underdevel- oped and developing nations, where the impact of tobacco use is the most severe [2]. Apart from numerous health conse- quences, such as malignancies, heart problems, stroke, dental problems, lung issues, diabetes, and long-term obstructive pulmonary issues, tobacco use is also a major causative factor of poverty and impoverishment among users, and the direct and indirect financial expenses of tobacco use significantly impact the health budgets of individual countries [2]. Given the wide-ranging consequences of tobacco use, there is a pressing need for an appropriate global public health preven- tion strategy.
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