The idea for this handbook arose from an awareness that whilst various WHO documents called for developing national capacity for tobacco control, there was not comprehensive guide to the development of such a capacity. This book is thus, essentially, a pragmatic "how to" manual. The Introduction presents the evolving definition of "national capacity", identifies the types of capacities needed for effective tobacco control and outlines the key features of building capacity. Section 1 provides a descriptive overview of the tobacco epidemic. It looks at tobacco as a risk factor, presenting its health, social and economic costs; the global strategies of the tobacco industry to counteract public health measures; the scientific evidence for effective tobacco control interventions; and the WHO FCTC as a global solution to an epidemic with prominent politico-legal and socio-cultural attributes. Section 2 focuses on the fundamental capacities necessary to empower countries to control the tobacco epidemic successfully. These chapters apply the lessons learned from the experiences of different countries and offer advice and suggestions to enable countries to put the theories of tobacco control into practice.