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Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yeh Ching-chuan said Sunday that if he can attend the annual conference of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May, he will share Taiwan's experiences in fight against smoking with other participating countries.
Yeh made the remarks while attending an event promoting smoke-free taxis ahead of the Jan.11 implementation of the revised Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act that imposes a strict ban on smoking indoors in public places, including on taxis.
Noting that Taiwan is on par with, or even outperform, Singapore, Hong Kong and Scandinavian countries in efforts to establish a smoke-free environment, Yeh said he looks forward to sharing Taiwan's experiences in this regard with other countries at this year's conference of the WHA-- the top decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), a U.N. specialized agency.
Although Taiwan is no longer a WHO member since its expulsion from the United Nations, Taiwan's health minister has since 1997 consistently headed a delegation to Geneva in May when the WHA convenes its annual meeting to convey Taiwan people's desire to have a voice in the WHA. Because of China's opposition, Taiwan's DOH minister usually could only be seated in the WHA conference hall's public gallery.
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From today, cigarette packets on the mainland are supposed to change radically - with a warning of a specific disease and a picture that leaves the smoker in no doubt about the possible consequence of his choice.
The change is a result of Beijing having signed up to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which came into force on January 1, 2006 and mandated that packaging regulations be implemented after three years.
Mainland China is the world's largest tobacco producer consumer, with 350 million smokers, one-third of the global total. One million people die each year from smoking-related diseases, while 540 million suffer the effects of others' smoking, with 100,000 dying annually from illnesses caused by passive smoking, according to Ministry of Health figures.
Article 11 of the FCTC sets out the rules for the packaging of cigarettes. It provides that packaging must ensure that "the truth of the effects of tobacco use be properly reflected in the packaging and labelling of tobacco products, including the use of picture warnings that even the least literate members of society can readily understand".
It prescribes that 30 per cent to 50 per cent of the main display area be covered with a warning, including a picture.
The Network for Consumer Protection has applauded the announcements made by the Malaysian and Indian governments regarding the introduction of pictorial messages on cigarette packs from January 1 and February 1, respectively, and has urged the Government of Pakistan to move fast in this direction.
Pictorial messages show the devastating effects of tobacco smoking on the human body in graphic form and have more persuasive power than small printed messages on the side of cigarette packs. Graphic pictorial messages on cigarette packs are a requirement of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Many countries around the world including the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Brazil and Canada have introduced large pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs.
Pakistan is a signatory to FCTC. . . .
With a literacy rate of hardly 50%, Pakistan needs to introduce pictorial health messages to effectively warn against smoking.
A government working group considering amendments to the Tobacco Act handed in its report to Health and Social Services Minister, Paula Risikko on Thursday. The report includes proposals for tightening tobacco legislation and introducing anti-smoking programmes.
The report pays particular attention to measures to reduce smoking among young people by changing tobacco laws. Parliament’s Social Affairs and Health Committee has reviewed the existing legislation, with a view to making it possible to impose fines and prison sentences on persons found to guilty of selling tobacco products to under aged persons. The work of the Committee has been led by Justice Minister Tuija Brax.
The working group proposals are part of a blanket agreement on WHO anti-smoking programmes as well as the implementation of an EU directive on the issue.
Female smokers in the country are getting younger according to a study made by a tobacco control group.
Five out of ten girls 15-years-old and below, said that cigarette companies encourage other girls their age to smoke.
The South East Asian Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) said that three out of 10 female smokers belong to the 13 to 15 age group. Among female smokers, 60.4% said that they started smoking at 18-years-old while 39.6% said that they started smoking at 17-years-old and below.
In the 13 to 15 age group, five out of ten girls believed that cigarette companies encourage other girls their age to smoke. About 79% said that they noticed advertising of tobacco products in stores and shops.
"The study clearly shows that tobacco companies are enticing the youths to take on smoking," said Maricar B. Limpin, executive director of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines (FCAP) in a statement.
Dubai: UAE tobacco laws are unlikely to be passed this year, two years after the initial intended deadline.
The Ministry of Health at first expected the country to have its first comprehensive tobacco-control laws by the end of 2006, in keeping with the UAE's commitment to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC).
Federal National Council debates on the proposed legislation were slated for November 11 this year, but got delayed due to the summer holidays and Ramadan. Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, head of the National Tobacco Control Committee, told Gulf News the debate has now been delayed till further notice. "In November, they promised to discuss the law, but it did not happen because other issues came in the middle of (November) - the financial crisis," she said.
At a press conference held at the American Cancer Society Center in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, leaders from the American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation announced they will team up with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the National Cancer Institute of Mexico to focus attention on the growing international cancer problem. The American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation also issued a 6-point call-to-action outlining steps the incoming US administration can take to ease the global cancer burden.
"Cancer is a growing pandemic - and an enemy that no single organization, or nation for that matter, can defeat alone. It will take collaborative efforts such as this unprecedented gathering here today and determined action from our nation's leaders if we are to make real and lasting progress in the worldwide fight against cancer," said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society.
According to the IARC's World Cancer Report, also unveiled at the briefing, the international cancer burden doubled between 1975 and 2000 and is set to double again by 2020 and nearly triple by 2030. There were around 12 million new cancer cases and 7 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2008, the report says, with 20-26 million new cases and 13-17 million deaths projected for 2030. . . .
The US cancer groups outlined 6 steps they recommend the new US administration take to ease the global cancer burden:
* Improve the availability of vaccines shown to prevent cancer-causing infections
* Commit to a comprehensive tobacco control program in the United States
* Ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a global health treaty aimed at reducing the health and economic effects of tobacco
Singapore's National Smoking Control Programme (NSCP) has been internationally recognised for its outstanding practices, as well as innovative and successful approaches to comprehensive tobacco control.
Singapore received the Good Practice Award for Comprehensive Tobacco Control in Cities at the World Health Organisation Alliance for Healthy Cities Awards 2008.
The award was announced at the Third Global Conference of the Alliance for Healthy Cities held in Ichikawa City, Japan, on 25 October 2008.
The National Smoking Control Programme adheres to the MPOWER package, which is a roadmap to help countries meet their obligations to the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC).
Russia's lower house of parliament on Wednesday approved legislation to lower tar and nicotine content in cigarettes and to place large health warnings on the packs.
But some health advocates say the measure passed by the State Duma flies in the face of guidelines of the international tobacco control agreement that Russia joined this year.
The legislation, which still must be approved by the upper house and signed by the president before taking effect, allows cigarette makers to continue to identify some brands as "light" or "low-tar."
Dmitry Yanin of the Russian consumer rights group Konfop called those terms "misleading." If that language were removed, the legislation would "introduce important and useful tobacco control measures," he said in a statement.
The World Health Organization's tobacco control agreement has urged that such terms be prohibited, but the guidelines are not mandatory.
Russia's lower house of parliament has approved legislation to lower tar and nicotine content in cigarettes and to put large health warnings on the packs.
But some health advocates say the measure passed by the State Duma ignores some guidelines of the international tobacco control agreement that Russia joined this year.
Africa has become the main target of tobacco corporations that are being driven out of developed countries by tougher laws, high taxes and more consumer awareness of the dangers of smoking.
A conference aimed at curbing the spread of tobacco products worldwide, convened by the World Health Organisation, starts in Durban, South Africa, on Monday.
This is the third meeting of the organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a treaty that already has the support of 160 countries and binds signatories to measures aimed at cutting down on smoking - a major cause of several illnesses, particularly cancer.
The organisation says tobacco use kills about 5,5-million people every year, with 70 percent of deaths occurring in developing countries.
"African countries are experiencing the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use among developing countries.
The Ministry of Health informed yesterday that the Tobacco Regulation (Labelling) 2007 has come into force from Dec 1, 2008, which requires all cigarette and tobacco product packets sold in the country to have pictorial warning labels.
The prohibition notice of selling the products to those aged 18 years and below and the level of tar and nicotine contents must also be printed on the packets.
As a member of Framework Convention for Tobacco Control of the World Health Organisation (FCTC, WHO), Brunei is required to ensure that all tobacco producers print big and clear health warning labels including pictures.
The Russian government is flouting the World Health Organization’s convention against smoking, despite having ratified it earlier this year.
In defiance of the convention a new Russian standard permits the use of misleading advertising of cigarettes, including the use of the word "light" to describe certain brands, and allows representatives of the tobacco industry to take part in the legislative process.
The lower chamber of the Russian national parliament, the Duma, has passed the national standard for tobacco products in its second hearing. The standard, which was prepared by a lobbyist from the tobacco industry, legalises the trade of cigarettes under names that include words such as "light." Although a third hearing is needed before the standard becomes law, this tends to be a formal approval process only, and changes at this stage are unlikely.