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WHO wants a ban on all tobacco advertising to protect youth 30th May,
Geneva.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) today urged governments
to protect the world’s 1.8 billion young people by imposing a ban on all tobacco
advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
The WHO call to action comes in advance of World No Tobacco
Day, 31 May.
This year’s campaign focuses on the multi-billion dollar efforts of tobacco
companies to attract young people to its addictive products through
sophisticated marketing.
Recent studies prove that the more young people are exposed
to tobacco advertising, the more likely they are to start smoking. Despite this,
only 5% of the world’s population is covered by comprehensive bans on tobacco
advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Tobacco companies, meanwhile, continue
targeting young people by falsely associating use of tobacco products with
qualities such as glamour, energy and sex appeal. “In order to survive, the
tobacco industry needs to replace those who quit or die with new young
consumers,” said WHO Director-General, Margaret Chan. "It does this by creating
a complex ‘tobacco marketing net’ that ensnares millions of young people
worldwide, with potentially devastating health consequences."
“A ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
is a powerful tool we can use to protect the world’s youth,” the
Director-General added. Since most people start smoking before the age of 18,
and almost a quarter of those before the age of 10, tobacco companies market
their products wherever youth can be easily accessed – in the movies, on the
Internet, in fashion magazines and at music and sports venues. In a WHO world
wide school-based study of 13-15 year-olds, more than 55% of students reported
seeing advertisements for cigarettes on billboards in the previous month, while
20% owned an item with a cigarette brand logo on it.
But it is the developing world, home to more than 80% of the
world’s youth, which is most aggressively targeted by tobacco companies. Young
women and girls are particularly at risk, with tobacco companies seeking to
weaken cultural opposition to their products in countries where women have
traditionally not used tobacco.“The tobacco industry employs predatory marketing
strategies to get young people hooked to their addictive drug,” said Dr Douglas
Bettcher, Director of WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative. "But comprehensive
advertising bans do work, reducing tobacco consumption by up to 16% in countries
that have already taken this legislative step." "Half measures are not enough,"
added Dr Bettcher. "When one form of advertising is banned, the tobacco industry
simply shifts its vast resources to another channel. We urge governments to
impose a complete ban to break the tobacco marketing net," he said.
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