THURSDAY FEB 7, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- The World Health Organization issued a report today saying that tobacco could kill 1 billion people in the 21st century unless governments take measures to curtail the ever-increasing smoking trends.

Smoking tobacco will kill half of the smokers, according to the UN agency who said no country has done enough to curb tobacco use, which is expected to kill 500 million people worldwide who live today.

Margaret Chan, the WHO director general said in her statement that her agency intends to strengthen the agency's reputation - the biggest enemy to the tobacco industry as the industry terms it.

She called upon all nations to take six measures that can effectively dissuade people, particularly women and young people from smoking and to help them quit.

The six measures include monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies; protecting people through smoking bans; offering help to quit; warning about the dangers of tobacco; enforcing bans on promotion, marketing and sponsorship; and raising taxes, in short mPower.

Imposing high taxes as high as 75% of the pack price is one of the best measure any government can take, the WHO said. The tax can be in turn used to help people avoid or stop smoking.

Although the governments are engaged in more effort to fight smoking tobacco, there is more every country can do, Chan said.   Only 5% of the world population live in countries that fully implement any one of the six measures, according to the WHO.

Chan said the tobacco industry was increasing its effort to sell tobacco in the developing countries where millions of people get addicted every year.   Young women have become a target, which is one of the most ominous developments, she said.

The WHO said the tobacco industry was focusing its marketing and sales effort on the developing world where millions of people are becoming addicted every year.

The WHO released ten facts on the tobacco epidemic and global tobacco control cited below.

The tobacco epidemic kills 5.4 million people a year from lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. Unchecked, that number will increase to more than eight million a year by 2030. Tobacco use is a risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of deaths in the world.

Tragically, the epidemic is shifting towards the developing world, where 80% of tobacco-related deaths will occur within a few decades. The shift is caused by a global tobacco industry marketing strategy that targets young people and adults in developing countries. In addition, because most women currently do not use tobacco, the tobacco industry aggressively reaches out to them to tap into this potential new market.

The tobacco epidemic is man-made and entirely preventable. Yet, only 5% of the world's population lives in a country that fully protects its population with any one of the key policy interventions that have significantly reduced tobacco use in the countries that have implemented them.

The six most effective policies that can curb the tobacco epidemic are outlined in WHO's MPOWER strategy:

Monitoring tobacco use and prevention
Protecting people from tobacco smoke
Offering help to quit tobacco use
Warning people about the dangers of tobacco
Enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
Raising taxes on tobacco

MPOWER policy 1: monitoring tobacco use and prevention
Assessment of tobacco use and its impact must be strengthened. Currently, half of the countries in the world – two out of three in the developing world – do not have even minimal data about youth and adult tobacco use.

MPOWER policy 2: protecting people from tobacco smoke
More than half of countries worldwide, accounting for nearly two thirds of the population of the world, allow smoking in government offices, work spaces and other indoor settings. Smoke-free policies in the workplaces of several industrialized nations have reduced total tobacco consumption among employees by an average of 29%.

MPOWER policy 3: offering help to quit tobacco use
Among smokers who are aware of the dangers of tobacco, three out of four want to quit. Comprehensive services to treat tobacco dependence are available to only 5% of the world’s population. It is difficult for tobacco users to quit on their own and most people benefit from help and support to overcome their dependence. Countries' health-care systems hold the primary responsibility for treating tobacco dependence.

MPOWER policy 4: warning about the dangers of tobacco
Graphic warnings on tobacco product packaging deter tobacco use, yet only 15 countries, representing 6% of the world’s population, mandate pictorial warnings that cover at least 30% of the principal surface area.

More than 40% of the world's population live in countries that do not prevent the use of misleading and deceptive packaging terms such as "light" and "low-tar" - none of which actually signify any reduction in health risk.

MPOWER policy 5: enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
About half of the children of the world live in countries that do not ban free distribution of tobacco products. National-level studies before and after advertising bans found a decline in tobacco consumption of up to 16% following prohibitions.

MPOWER policy 6: raising taxes on tobacco products
Increasing tobacco taxes by 10% generally decreases tobacco consumption by 4% in high-income countries and by about 8% in low- and middle-income countries. A 70% increase in the price of tobacco would prevent up to a quarter of all tobacco-related deaths among today's smokers.

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