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The World Health Organization on Friday, May 30, 2008 announced that the governments need to ban all tobacco advertisements and promotions to deter adolescents from smoking. Margaret Chan, WHO Director General remarked on Friday that a ban on all tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship is a powerful tool one can use to protect the world’s youth. The statement by Chan came on the eve of World No Tobacco Day, May 31.
Recent studies have revealed that more the young people are exposed to tobacco advertising, the more likely they are to start smoking. Chan remarked that in order to survive, the tobacco industry needs to replace those who quit or die with new young consumers. She further asserted that they do so by creating a complex ‘tobacco marketing net’ that ensnares millions of young people worldwide, with potentially devastating health consequences.
It is significant to note that it is the developing world, which is home to more than 80 percent of the world’s youth, which is aggressively targeted by the tobacco companies. Recent studies have highlighted that tobacco companies continue to target the young by falsely associating the use of tobacco products with qualities such as glamour, sex appeal and energy. Douglas Bettcher, director of WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative remarked that comprehensive advertising bans do work, reducing tobacco consumption by upto 16 percent in countries that have already taken this legislative step.
