World No Tobacco Day is May 31: Be Aware
Citing increased effort by Big Tobacco to undermine the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) the organization has chosen the theme “tobacco industry interference” for this year’s World No Tobacco Day on May 31.
The WHO FCTC was the world’s first global public health treaty. The treaty, which entered into force in 2005, was signed by 168 of 192 WHO member states and was designed to provide an internationally coordinated response to combat tobacco use.
According to WHO, as countries move to meet their obligations under WHO FCTC, the tobacco industry is becoming more determined in its efforts to undermine the treaty. They cite the industry’s attempt to halt adoption of pictorial health warning on packages of tobacco; its effort to stop countries from enacting laws banning smoking in enclosed public places; and its ongoing determination to subvert nations’ efforts to curb tobacco advertising, sponsorship, and promotion; are just some examples of increased interference by the tobacco industry.
The aim of World Tobacco Day is to educate the policy-makers, as well as the general public, about the tobacco industry’s propaganda and not-so-covert, harmful tactics.
Margaret Chan, director-general of WHO, told the 15th World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Singapore that Big Tobacco has the kind of money that can speak louder than any moral, ethical, or public health argument, but that the effort to stop them must continue. “We can, and must stop this industry’s massive contribution to sickness and death, dead in its tracks,” she said
The Florida tobacco attorneys at Farah & Farah support World No Tobacco Day and agree that Big Tobacco’s interference and underhanded tactics have to be exposed for meaningful progress to be made in the fight against tobacco use. To learn about your legal rights and options as a consumer and a person who has suffered harm due to the actions of major tobacco companies, call one of our experienced lawyers at (800) 533-3555.
