PHA-Exchange> 31 In preparation of PHA 2

[Claudio]

From: "Vern Weitzel" <vern.weitzel at undp.org>

LANDMARK UN TOBACCO-CONTROL TREATY COMES INTO FORCE ON SUNDAY

> The United Nations global treaty to curb tobacco use, which now claims
nearly 5 million lives a year
> and causes an estimated annual net loss of $200 billion in treatment and
lost productivity, comes
> into force on Sunday with a host of tools to clamp down on the world's
leading cause of preventable
> deaths.
>
> The World Health Organization
>
(<"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005/pr09/en/index.html">WHO
) Framework Convention
> on Tobacco Control (<"http://www.who.int/tobacco/framework/en/">FCTC)
requires parties to the accord
> to restrict tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, set new
labelling and clean indoor air
> controls, and strengthen laws against tobacco smuggling. Already 57
countries have become party to
> the landmark treaty, representing 2.3 billion people.
>
> "I encourage all countries to become party to this treaty, and to
implement the range of measures
> which will make tobacco use less and less attractive to people," WHO
Director-General Lee Jong-wook
> said ahead of Sunday's deadline for the first 40 countries that became
contracting parties before 30
> November 2004. The other 17 became parties since then.
>
> If current trends are not reversed, tobacco will prematurely end the lives
of 10 million people a
> year by 2020, WHO said. It is the only legal product that causes the death
of one half of its
> regular users. This means that of the current 1.3 billion smokers, 650
million people will die
> prematurely due to tobacco.
>
> With its entry into force, countries party to the treaty are bound to
translate its general
> provisions into national laws and regulations. They will have, for
example, three years to ensure
> that tobacco packaging has strong health warnings, or five years to
establish comprehensive
> advertising, promotion and sponsorship bans.
>
> "Many countries have already put these measures in place," said Vera Luiza
da Costa e Silva,
> Director of WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative. "The difference for global
tobacco control is that
> countries party to the Convention will be able to implement these and
other measures, especially
> those with cross-border implications, in a coordinated and standardized
way. This will leave fewer
> loopholes for the tobacco industry, which currently finds ways to
circumvent national laws."
>
> Evidence shows that smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Tobacco
use is the cause of the
> majority of lung cancer cases and it has been linked to many other types
of cancer, such as cervical
> and kidney cancer. Other health risks associated with tobacco include
heart attacks, strokes and
> other cardiovascular diseases; bronchitis, asthma and other respiratory
diseases as well as infertility.
>
> Tobacco use continues to expand, especially in the developing world, where
currently half of the
> deaths due to tobacco occur. If current trends continue, seven out of
every ten deaths due to
> tobacco will occur in the developing world by 2020.