The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the World Health Organization, and the World Lung Foundation have been tapped to administer a new $125-million antismoking campaign funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

The Associated Press reported Nov. 2 that Bloomberg, the New York mayor who intends to retire and devote his time to philanthropy in 2009, announced the five groups this week. They will work to help smokers quit, raise tobacco taxes, monitor tobacco use, and measure the effectiveness of stop-smoking strategies.

Groups in low- and middle-income countries, including China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Bangladesh, will also be eligible to apply for grants ranging from $50,000 to $500,000.

Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said that Bloomberg's international campaign "has the potential to save literally millions of lives."