Feb 7, 2008, 21:15 GMT
New York - More than 150 countries which signed an international convention on tobacco control have failed to implement its measures - a shortcoming expected to contribute to escalating tobacco-related deaths projected to reach 8 million a year by 2030, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday.
WHO, with the private financial assistance of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an ex-smoker, produced its first analysis of the 3-year-old global tobacco-use and control campaign since the convention was signed in 2005.
The report says that governments collected 500 times more tobacco taxes than they spent on anti-tobacco efforts.
WHO Director General Margaret Chan said the tobacco industry has called WHO its 'biggest enemy.'
'Today, we want to enhance that role as the biggest enemy,' she said, accusing the tobacco industry of using devious tactics to entice people, particularly girls and women, to smoke.
The researchers found the smoking epidemic has shifted to developing nations, currently home of 80 per cent of the world's smokers, with China and India having the largest number of smokers. The majority of tobacco-related deaths are in the developing world, the report said.
Chan said a set of six anti-smoking measures outlined in the convention provide the 'best chance' of reversing the growing epidemic, which WHO predicted could kill up to 1 billion people during the 21st century. WHO estimated 100 million died of tobacco- related diseases in the 20th century.
'While efforts to combat tobacco are gaining momentum, virtually every country needs to do more,' Chan said.
The measures are known as MPOWER, an acronym that stands for monitor tobacco use; protect people from tobacco smoke; offer help to smokers who want to quit; warn of tobacco dangers; enforce bans on tobacco advertising and raise tobacco taxes.
Chan praised Bloomberg's active role in combating the tobacco industry as a 'shining example.'
Bloomberg's administration banned smoking in New York's public places and restaurants and drastically raised cigarette prices - moves he said had resulted in 250,000 New Yorkers quitting smoking since the ban began six years ago. A billionaire, Bloomberg spent 2 million dollars from his philanthropic foundation to fund the WHO report.
The mayor, who quit smoking 25 years ago, said opponents of his anti-smoking policy had predicted a drop in restaurant and kiosk business, but just the opposite had occurred.
'Generally, all I can say is that the smoking ban has resulted in the best things to them (businesses),' Bloomberg said, adding that similar anti-smoking measures across the US and particularly in California have shown rising restaurant sales.
He said four-fifths of smokers wanted to quit, but did not know where to get help to end their cigarette addiction.
The report said China, which signed and ratified the convention, has failed to educate the population of tobacco-related diseases and only 25 per cent of smokers have been told about them.
The United States, which signed the convention but has yet to ratify, was not doing enough to ban smoking or help smokers kick the habit, the report said.
The report said 80 per cent of the 150 signers failed to fully implement even one of the six measures demanded by the convention and none has fully implemented them.
WHO estimated there are 1 billion smokers in the world among the the global population of 6.7 billion. More than 40 per cent are in China and India.
Other countries with high numbers of smokers are Indonesia, Russia, the US, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Germany and Turkey.
WHO said the number of tobacco-related deaths this year will be higher than deaths from tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. Tobacco kills one person every six seconds and is responsible for one in 10 adult deaths worldwide.
Tobacco use among young females is rising and has become 'one of the most ominous potential developments of the epidemic's growth,' the Geneva-based agency said.
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