May 31, 2006
WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY
By: www.news24.com

Manila - The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday accused the global tobacco industry of continuing to use misleading labels to lure millions of people, including children, to take up smoking.

On the eve of World No Tobacco Day, WHO said it would focus on the "tobacco industry's lies" and the great variety of deadly tobacco products.

"The purpose of World No Tobacco Day is to remove the deceit and unveil the truth behind tobacco products," Shigeru Omi, regional director for the Western Pacific, said in a statement from WHO's regional headquarters in Manila.

"Tobacco products are deadly in any form, whether it be cigarettes, pipes, clove cigarettes, chewing tobacco, betel nut used with tobacco or cigars," he said.

The industry's use of misleading descriptions and manufacturing methods - like mild, light, low tar, fruit-flavoured, chocolate-flavoured, natural, additive-free and organic - did not make tobacco products safer, he said.

"All these products and practices are deadly and addictive, and thus the absence of truthful information deprives even well-intended people of the ability to make healthy choices," he said.

He called on regional governments to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world's tobacco-control treaty, which is binding for most countries in the Western Pacific, including Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

WHO said smoking was the single biggest preventable cause of death in the world claiming 4.9 million lives a year.

If present consumption patterns continued, the number of deaths would increase by 2020 to 10 million, 70% of them in developing countries, it said.

"There are an estimated 1.3 billion smokers and half of them are expected to die prematurely of a tobacco-related disease," the WHO statement said.

At the current rate, the number of smokers worldwide would rise to 1.7 billion by 2025, the statement added.

'Doctors for Life International' represents more than 1400 medical doctors and specialists, three-quarters of who practice in South Africa. Since 1991 DFL has been actively promoting health care that is safe and efficient for all South Africans. DFL was founded as a South African organization in 1991 and has spread across the globe. DFL is involved in several community projects including orphan care, the care of terminal AIDS patients, malaria prevention and the care of abused women.