Tobacco industry a devious enemy: WHO chief

March 20, 2012 in Health

World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Margaret Chan on Tuesday decried the tobacco industry as a "ruthless and devious enemy" and urged governments and civil society groups to unite against cigarette firms.

Speaking at a conference on tobacco and health in Singapore, the WHO director-general slammed cigarette companies for undermining a UN-backed campaign against tobacco use and its associated health risks.

"We have an enemy, a ruthless and devious enemy, to unite us," she told delegates.

"The enemy, the tobacco industry, has changed its face and its tactics. The wolf is no longer in sheep's clothing, and its teeth are bared."

Chan said moves by cigarette firms to challenge the legality of government measures to protect public health amounted to interference in countries' domestic affairs.

"This is direct interference with a country's internal affairs. We will not let them do these kinds of tactics," she said, accusing tabacco companies of using their deep pockets to stymie efforts to curb smoking.

"Big tobacco can afford to hire the best lawyers and PR firms that money can buy. Big money can speak louder than any moral, ethical or public health argument and can trample even the most damning scientific evidence," she said.

Proposals by cigarette companies to form "joint government-industry committees" to oversee anti-smoking campaigns in some countries were also condemned by Chan.

She said tobacco firms would simply use any such committees "to vet all policy and legislative matters pertaining to tobacco control."

"Don't fall into this trap. Doing so is just like appointing a committee of foxes to look after your chickens," she warned.

Chan, a former Hong Kong health chief who was elected to the WHO's top post in November 2006, said legal actions filed by tobacco companies against authorities in Uruguay, Norway, Australia and Turkey were designed to weaken their resolve to control tobacco use.

"What the industry wants to see is a domino effect," she said.

"When one country's resolve falters under the pressure of costly, drawn-out litigation and threats of billion-dollar settlements, others with similar intentions are likely to topple as well."

Urging civil society groups to take up the slack when government efforts are weakened due to legal challenges from the tobacco industry she said: "we need this kind of outcry, this kind of rage."

According to the WHO, tobacco use kills nearly six million people each year, including more than 600,000 who are non-smokers but exposed to second-hand smoke.

The UN health watchdog says the annual death toll could rise to more than eight million by 2030.

In a major victory for the anti-tobacco campaign, the WHO pushed for a global treaty called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which came into force seven years ago.

But a study released Tuesday on the sidelines of the Singapore conference said "interference" by cigarette firms in public health policies is slowing down the campaign against tobacco use.

Many leading cigarette companies say they back greater regulation but warn that too strict actions will force smokers to buy from the black market, which can not be monitored.

On its website Philip Morris says its priority is to conduct research to reduce the risks of smoking-related diseases, while British American Tobacco's website says plain packaging on cigarettes is "a gift to the black market".

(c) 2012 AFP

not rated yet  

Rank not rated yet
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Bed sharing with parents increases risk of cot death fivefold

Bed sharing with parents is linked to a fivefold increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), even when the parents are non-smokers and the mother has not been drinking alcohol and does not use illegal drugs, according ...

Health created 8 hours ago | popularity 1.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Sports seem OK for many with heart-zapping device

Doctors tell people with a heart-zapping device in their chests to give up intense sports like basketball and soccer in favor of golf or bowling. But lots of patients ignore that advice—and now new research is challenging ...

Health created 8 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Gym class reduces probability of obesity, study finds for first time

Little is known about the effect of physical education (PE) on child weight, but a new study from Cornell University finds that increasing the amount of time that elementary schoolchildren spent in gym class reduces the probability ...

Health created 10 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Prenatal exposure to traffic is associated with respiratory infection in young children

Living near a major roadway during the prenatal period is associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection developing in children by the age of 3, according to a new study from researchers in Boston.

Health created 12 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Combined wood and tobacco smoke exposure increases risk and symptoms of COPD

People who are consistently exposed to both wood smoke and tobacco smoke are at a greater risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and for experiencing more frequent and severe symptoms of the disease, ...

Health created 12 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Early-life traffic-related air pollution exposure linked to hyperactivity

Early-life exposure to traffic-related air pollution was significantly associated with higher hyperactivity scores at age 7, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Cincinnati Children's Hospital ...

New immune system discovered

(Medical Xpress)—A research team, led by Jeremy Barr, a biology post-doctoral fellow, unveils a new immune system that protects humans and animals from infection.

The compound in the Mediterranean diet that makes cancer cells 'mortal'

New research suggests that a compound abundant in the Mediterranean diet takes away cancer cells' "superpower" to escape death. By altering a very specific step in gene regulation, this compound essentially re-educates cancer ...

Resistance to last-line antibiotic makes bacteria resistant to immune system

Bacteria resistant to the antibiotic colistin are also commonly resistant to antimicrobial substances made by the human body, according to a study in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microb ...

Scientists identify molecular trigger for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have pinpointed a catalytic trigger for the onset of Alzheimer's disease – when the fundamental structure of a protein molecule changes to cause a chain reaction that leads to the death of neurons ...

Do salamanders hold the solution to regeneration?

Salamanders' immune systems are key to their remarkable ability to regrow limbs, and could also underpin their ability to regenerate spinal cords, brain tissue and even parts of their hearts, scientists have ...