Summary
A treaty aimed at cutting tobacco-related deaths has become legally binding on 57 countries that ratified the agreement. The treaty bans advertising of tobacco, raises taxes on cigarettes, and addresses issues of smuggling. The United States and China have declined to ratify the treaty, which has led some observers to question the effectiveness of the effort.
Original source:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-02-27-voa6.cfm
Details
The world's first treaty aimed at cutting tobacco-related deaths has come into force.
The World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control becomes legally binding upon countries that have ratified the landmark agreement.
The World Health Organization says it believes the Tobacco Convention, the world's first international public health treaty, could save millions of lives.
The WHO says tobacco is the second leading cause of preventable deaths globally after hypertension.
The WHO estimates that nearly five million people die prematurely every year from tobacco-related diseases.
If current smoking trends are not reversed, the WHO warns by 2020, tobacco will kill 10 million people a year, 70 percent of them in developing countries.
The coordinator of the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Douglas Bettcher, says the treaty is a tool that, if properly implemented, can curb the global tobacco epidemic.
"It is an historical moment and we are very confident that this treaty is going to save lives," said Douglas Bettcher.
"It has already started off a powerful process globally and we are very confident that it is going to continue to do so and it is going to prove itself as a very effective public health tool to really curb this unacceptable burden of disease and death."
The treaty sets standards and guidelines for tobacco advertising, pricing and smuggling.
It also aims to limit non-smokers' exposure to other people's smoke.
The director of the WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative, Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva says treaty provisions aim to dissuade children from
smoking and helping adults to kick the habit.
"The ban of advertising so as not to promote smoking propaganda, publicity, sponsorship and promotion," said Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva.
One of the most important measures that I can describe is the measure that addresses smuggling, which is a big cause of increasing availability of
cigarettes with small prices and cigarettes of totally unknown origin."
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Monday, March 07, 2005
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