Agency is celebrating this week 20Th Anniversary of entry by virtue of his frame convention on tobacco control (WHO FCTC) – one of the most embraced UN Tractates in history.
The Convention provides a legal framework and a comprehensive package of evidence -based tobacco control measures that include large pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages, smoke -free laws and increased taxes on tobacco products.
Up to 5.6 billion people are now covered by at least one tobacco control policy in line with the treaty And studies have shown a decrease in global smoking speeds.
‘A plague on humanity’
“Tobacco is a plague of humanity – the leading cause of preventable death and illness globally“Said WHO HERFORY Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
He noted that “since the entry of the WHOS FCTC and MPOWER-technical packages that support it is the global tobacco use prevalence fallen by a third.”
The Convention is the first ever public health treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO. It came into force on February 27, 2005, and currently there are 183 parties covering approx. 90 percent of the global population.
An event will be held on Thursday in Geneva to mark the Milestone Day.
Prohibition and warnings
Thanks to the Convention, 138 countries now require large pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages. Dozens several have implemented ordinary packaging rules that require a standard shape and appearance without branding, designor a logo.
Both goals serve as powerful tools to reduce tobacco consumption and warn users of the dangers of tobacco use that said.
In addition, over a quarter of the world’s population is now covered by policies that prohibit smoking indoors and in work areas, saving millions from the dangers of used smoke.
Meanwhile, over 66 countries have implemented the ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, which includes the ban on tobacco advertising in the media and sponsorship agreements.
Confronting a ‘deadly’ industry
The treaty has also contributed to establishing legal defense in the light of the tobacco industry that spends tens of thousands of billions of dollars on promotion.
“The tobacco industry is a deadly industry behind the tobacco epidemicNow trying to place himself as part of the solution while actively derailing tobacco control efforts that could save millions of lives, ”Dr. Adriana Blanco Marquizo, head of the WHO’s FCTC Secretariat.
The Treaty “Equipes the Parties with a comprehensive set of measures to protect populations from the industry’s ever-evolving tactics design to serve at the expense of people’s lives and our planet’s health,” she added and urged lands “to remain always aware of its predator tactics . ”
The number of people smoking all over the world in the fall.
Tobacco burden
Tobacco use is an important driving force for non -transferable diseases (NCDs) that cause premature death and disability explaining.
Tobacco -related diseases lead to disastrous health costs, especially for the world’s poor. Smokers are also more likely to lack access to nutritious food compared to non-smokers, including in richer countries.
The effects go even further.
Tobacco cultivation uses large areas of soil that can otherwise support sustainable food production systems, while its production further depletes important resources such as soil and water needed to produce food.
In addition, trillions of discarded plastic-heavy cigarette shutters pollute ecosystems every year, which further damage the planet.
Undermining public health
Who said the tobacco industry “continues to undermine public health efforts, aggressively aimed at youth through marketing, lobbying against tobacco control policies and placing themselves as part of the solution to the problem it created.”
Dr. Blanco Marquizo added that although great progress has been made in tobacco control, there is still more to do as “The tobacco industry continues to kill millions of people a year, and its socio -economic burdens cause tribes on the entire population. ”
She urged the countries to be full and nicotine products.
“Through these measures we can save millions of millions of more people globally,” she said.
