The World Health Organization chief has urged governments to unite against tobacco giant industries that use dirty tricks and scare tactics against anti-smoking measures.
WHO director-general Margaret Chan accused giant tobacco industries of using lawsuits to try and subvert national laws and international conventions aimed at curbing cigarette sales, AFP reported.
"It is horrific to think that an industry known for its dirty tricks and dirty laundry could be allowed to trump what is clearly in the public's best interests," Chan said during a WHO meeting of Western Pacific nations on Monday.
Big tobacco's efforts to subvert the World Health Organization's framework convention on tobacco control “are now out in the open and extremely aggressive,” the UN health official warned.
Referring to tobacco firms' legal actions against anti-smoking measures in Australia and Uruguay, Chan cautioned that these "scare tactics" are “deliberately designed to instill fear in other countries wishing to introduce similarly tough tobacco control measures."
“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 added. “It is hard for any country to bear the financial burden of this kind of litigation, but most especially so for small countries.”
WHO chief urged Western Pacific nations to fight back and not allow the tobacco industry get the upper hand.
According to WHO estimates, at least 3,000 people die each day from tobacco use in the Western Pacific region.
Chan pointed to successful efforts in the Philippines to increase taxes on tobacco products, saying that the WHO was "gearing up" to support other countries that took similar measures.
SJM/TE
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