Non-communicable diseases (NCD) have been the major public health problem in the industrialized countries and are a rapidly growing problem also for the developing countries. Risk factors for NCDs have been identified; the most important are smoking, imbalanced diet, excessive alcohol intake and a lack of physical activity. Community-based health programs have been effective in decreasing level of risk factors, including tobacco consumption, and in improving health, as the North Karelia Project has shown. Various practical and effective antismoking activities have been carried out in North Karelia. In concert with reduced smoking rates among males, cancer mortality, and especially lung cancer mortality has decreased greatly in North Karelia. A new type of cardiac outpatient rehabilitation program was conducted in a North Karelian hospital in co-operation with the Finnish Heart Association: the program focused on key risk factor identification among patients with coronary heart disease. In the North Karelian hospital an anti-smoking campaign has been implemented focusing initially on three areas: cardiology, pulmonology and obstectrics.

A provincial health promotion agency has been formed, which shares the theoretical framework and experiences of the North Karelia Project. One of the main tasks of the agency, the North Karelia Center for Public Health, is to continue to promote a smoke-free community.