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May
31 is Anti Tobacco Day
GENEVA (AP): Cigarette packages should include
images of sickness and suffering caused by tobacco,
along with written warnings, the World Health
Organization said Friday.
The U.N. agency urged governments to make people more
aware of the health consequences of smoking. It said
most countries still do not warn consumers of the risks
on packages of cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco.
"Health warnings on tobacco packages are a simple, cheap
and effective strategy that can vastly reduce tobacco
use and save lives," said Dr. Ala Alwan, a senior WHO
official. "Warnings that include images of the harm that
tobacco causes are particularly effective at
communicating risk and motivating behavioral changes,
such as quitting or reducing tobacco consumption."
Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death,
killing more than 5 million people worldwide each year.
WHO says it is the only legal consumer product that
kills when used exactly as intended by the manufacturer.
Warning pictures on cigarette and other tobacco packs
have helped smokers kick the habit and prevented others
from becoming addicted, WHO said. It cited studies of
such campaigns in Brazil, Canada, Singapore and
Thailand, and said they revealed "remarkably consistent
findings."
But only a tenth of the world's population lives in
countries requiring warning pictures, WHO said. It said
governments needed to address that shortcoming as
ignorance still prevails on the dangers of smoking.
For example, a study in China showed that barely a third
of smokers knew they were at higher risk of heart
disease and only 17 percent knew that smoking causes
strokes, the agency said. In Syria, just a fraction of
university students knew that cardiovascular disease was
a hazard of cigarette or water pipe smoking.
WHO has taken an increasingly strong stance against
tobacco in recent years. It sponsored a 2003 treaty to
control tobacco use and has urged a world ban on smoking
in indoor workplaces and public buildings. It also has
said it will not hire any prospective employees who
smoke or use other tobacco products.
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