World No Tobacco Day begins

Saturday, 31 May 2003 12:00 AM

Health campaigners around the world today are urging smokers to pay greater attention to the perils of tobacco smoking.

Tthe World Health Organization (WHO) has designated May 31 as 'World No Tobacco Day' warning that worldwide more than 5 million die every year from tobacco-related illnesses.

Campaigners are demanding governments introduce tougher laws to regulate tobacco advertising, amid fears that passive smoking increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease by up to 25%.

They have had some success. 192 member states of WHO have approved the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), an international agreement calling for a halt to tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.

A signatory to the treaty, the World Bank, declared in a press release: 'Mitigating the devastating health damage caused by tobacco use is made especially difficult by nicotine's powerfully addictive properties, low prices of tobacco products and the constant, often subtle reinforcement of social norms and encouragement to smoke through billions of dollars of advertising each year.'

'World No Tobacco Day' began in 1988. Each year the campaign has a theme. In 2003, the theme is 'Film and Fashion.'

Around 460 organisations in 100 countries have backed the theme, which aims to increase public awareness of how the film and fashion industry 'sells' and glamorises tobacco.

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