WORLD HEART FEDERATION MARKS WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY, ADVOCATES FOR SMOKE-FREE POLICIESThe World Heart Federation celebrated World No Tobacco Day on 31 May 2007 with a call for its members to participate in the global campaign against second-hand smoking. Specifically, the World Heart Federation encouraged its members to support the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the Global Smokefree Partnership. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is an international public health treaty whose goal is to reduce the world’s consumption of tobacco. The Global Smokefree Partnership, which the World Heart Federation helped to found, promotes the implementation of smoke-free policies in accordance with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The theme of the 18th World No Tobacco Day was “Smoke–Free Environments” using the motto “Smoke-Free Inside”. It focused on the provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control arguing for comprehensive smoke-free policies as the only realistic means to protect nonsmokers. “Everyone should have the right to work in a healthy environment,” said World Heart Federation Chief Executive Officer Janet Voûte. “Most people are nonsmokers who should be protected from the harmful effects of tobacco smoke. This can be done at the country level by joining the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, if this is not already done, or by starting or scaling up initiatives to implement smoke-free legislation.” Smoking accounts of 20% of the world's deaths from cardiovascular disease. Two hundred thousand workers die per year because of exposure to second-hand smoking at work, according to the International Labour Organization. Seven hundred thousand children – or half the world’s total – breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke, particularly at home, according to the World Health Organization. "The evidence is clear: there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke," said the WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. "Many countries have already taken action. I urge all countries that have not yet done so to take this immediate and important step to protect the health of all by passing laws requiring all indoor workplaces and public places to be 100% smoke-free." On 30 May 2007, the Global Smokefree Partnership launched its first report on smoke-free policies around the world. Called the “Global Voices Report,” it shows that these policies work in the countries that have put them into action. For example, Ireland’s smoke-free policies have resulted in an 83% drop in air pollution in pubs, according to a study by the Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society. The report also finds that more than 200 million people are covered by smoke-free laws and that the laws are popular, are being enforced and leading to a decline in tobacco sales. The second conference of the parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is scheduled to take place 30 June to 6 July 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand. The parties are expected to consider guidelines for the implementation of the convention’s Article 8, which is specifically designed to protect against second-hand smoke. View the World No Tobacco Day 2007 web site. View the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control web site. View the Global Smokefree Partnership web site. View the Global Voices Report (PDF). The World Heart Federation is a leader in the global campaign against second-hand smoking. | |||||||
|