WORLD 31 May 2008 WHO's World No Tobacco Day. A prompt for ratification of new antitobacco treaty?

The United Nations has set aside May 31 each year as World No Tobacco Day. In 2008 it follows closely on the World Health Organization's first ever global report on tobacco control. The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic-2008, that says tobacco use killed 100 million people worldwide in the 20th century and could kill 1 billion people in the 21st. The date and report could increase pressure on the United States and other holdouts to ratify the WHO's new antitobacco treaty.

The treaty requires 152 participating countries to restrict tobacco advertising, impose smoking bans and tax increases on cigarettes, and toughen health warnings on cigarettes.

In the United States, obstacles to ratification include the lobbying power of the tobacco companies and ideological opposition by the Republican Party government to regulation and to international treaties. In many other countries, even countries that have ratified the pact, money and resources are too short to pursue the measures advocated in it. Tax increases and other antitobacco measures can be difficult to implement and enforce.

On a related special day, 2008 World Cancer Day on Feb 4, the focus is on second-hand smoke. Parents were asked to give children a smoke-free childhood and remember that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke.

The WHO report points out that smoking is declining in the United States, Canada and some other developed countries after decades of increasingly effective attacks on tobacco use. But in the developing world, the WHO predicts present smoking numbers are likely to double by 2020, and says some 7 million of the new smokers will be in developing countries. The agency blames the rise on aggressive tactics by the tobacco companies. For the tobacco industry to survive, and keep existing customers hooked and attract new customers, "it spends tens of billions of dollars a year on advertising, promotion and sponsorship," WHO said.

The tobacco companies deny the charge. A spokeswoman for London-based British American Tobacco says that "the accusation we're moving into emerging markets to avoid regulation simply isn't true."

The WHO report calls for a dramatic increase in effort by all countries to prevent young people from beginning to smoke, help smokers quit and protect nonsmokers from exposure to second-hand smoke. Feb/08

RELATED READING:

WHO warns tobacco use could claim 1 billion lives this century (VOA 11 Feb 2008)
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-02-11-voa50.cfm

WHO antismoking web
http://www.who.int/tobacco/en

World No Tobacco Day 2008 (CDC)http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/media_communications/calendar/2008/may_pressrelease.htm

World No Tobacco Day 2007 (WHO)
http://www.who.int/tobacco/communications/events/wntd/2007/en/

Governments trying to battle illegal tobacco trade (Bloomberg 11 Feb 2008)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aj_diBAyv3vs&refer=japan