WHO Urges Solidarity In Battle Against Tobacco

WHO Urges Solidarity In Battle Against Tobacco

September 14, 2007

Fifty-eighth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the
Western Pacific
10-14 September 2007, Jeju, Republic of Korea


    JEJU, Republic of Korea, Sept. 14 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/
-- The World Health Organization has called for an all-out
war against tobacco use in the Asia Pacific region now that
almost all Members States are parties to the WHO Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

    (Logo:
http://www.xprn.com.cn/xprn/sa/20061102095006-51.jpg )

    "There is astonishing global momentum," Dr
Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific,
told the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific at its
fifty-eighth session in Jeju.  "But this part of the
world has a mandate and special responsibility to attack
this scourge."  Smoking kills more than 3000 people in
the Western Pacific Region each day.  The Region has one
third of the world's smokers, the highest percentage of
male smokers and the fastest increase of smoking among
children and young women.  

    By December 2006, all Member States of the WHO Western
Pacific and South-East Asia Regions had ratified the WHO
FCTC, with the exception of Indonesia.  The WHO FCTC is an
international treaty aimed at improving global health by
reducing tobacco consumption through schemes such as
tobacco price and tax increases and a ban on tobacco
advertising and sponsorship.

    "Tobacco use, the world's leading cause of
preventable death, is an epidemic that will kill 1 billion
people this century unless governments in rich and poor
countries alike get serious about preventing it," Dr
Omi said.

    Reporting to the Regional Committee which is reviewing
WHO's work in the Region, Dr Omi said that a few Western
Pacific Member States already have met FCTC requirements,
and that several more are making good progress in
implementing Convention provisions.  

    "In this Region, we will continue to aggressively
promote evidence-based strategies such as tax and price
measures, the expansion of smoke-free policies,
comprehensive bans on advertising and promotion, stronger
health warnings on tobacco products, and where possible,
increasing access to cessation therapies," Dr Omi
said.

    At the most recent meeting in July 2007, parties to the
Convention adopted strong guidelines on second-hand smoke
and established an intergovernmental negotiating body to
start work on an anti-smuggling protocol on illicit trade.
Work on several guidelines has also begun on packaging,
labelling and advertising, promotion and sponsorship,
tobacco industry interference, education, communication,
training and public awareness as well as on cessation.

    "There is strength in numbers," said Dr Omi. 
"No country will be alone when they face down the
tobacco industry and those who want to protect the
continued spread of this deadly epidemic."


    For more information, please contact:

    World Health Organization
     Ms Marilu Lingad
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail] 

     Mr Peter Cordingley
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]