Slamming the tobacco players and their surrogates for furthering their interests by influencing scientific research, public perception, policy making, and the media with an aim to proliferate and sale of nicotine and tobacco products, the WHO has urged its member states including India to not to partner with or accept fund from the industry or its front groups. The cautionary note comes amid concerns that tobacco will kill one billion people this century, if business will continue as usual.
“The tobacco industry continues to amplify misinformation in the media, including the recent egregious attacks on tobacco control organizations. The tobacco industry is the only one that stands to benefit by undermining tobacco control organizations,” said the WHO in a statement here recently.
The international community must not forget that the tobacco industry knowingly denied its products were linked with cancer and falsely claimed there was no harm from secondhand smoke, said the global health body.
The WHO was echoing the concerns of its Global Ambassador for Non-Communicable Disease Michael R Bloomberg who in a sixth edition of Tobacco Atlas too had noted that while “we know the most effective strategies for stopping it. The challenge we face is persuading more leaders to embrace them—and empowering those leaders to implement them.”
The WHO further said that the misleading conduct by the tobacco players continues today with tobacco, e-cigarette, and other nicotine companies concealing the addictive nature of their products, while directly targeting children and young adults with advertisements for their harmful products. The tobacco industry has no place in tobacco control or harm reduction policy.
“The tobacco industry should not be a partner in any initiative linked to setting or implementing public health policies, knowing that its interests are in direct conflict with the goals of public health,” it said.
The WHO also called upon the international community to protect the implementation of the WHO FCTC, a legally binding instrument that is celebrating 20 years since its adoption at the World Health Assembly.