World No Tobacco Day 2010

Theme: Gender and Tobacco with an Emphasis on Marketing to Women.
On May 31 every  year we join with the world to celebrate World no Tobacco day. This day has been observed since 1987 by member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to acknowledge the dangers of tobacco.
World no Tobacco day is the right time to kick the smoking habit, get involved and make plans to stop smoking . World Tobacco day is observed every year with an intention to make the world tobacco free. This year, special attention is being given to the harmful effects of tobacco marketing to women and girls. The World Health Organization says tobacco kills nearly five and a half million people a year; another victim every six seconds. Tobacco use is a top cause of death worldwide.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the tobacco industry has increasingly directed its marketing campaigns at women and girls. Women currently represent about twenty percent of smokers. But tobacco use among girls is increasing. The (WHO) says over on billion people smoke and more than eighty percent of tobacco users live in low and middle income countries.
A survey done in one hundred fifty-one countries show that about seven percent of young girls now smoke. That compares with twelve percent of boys. In some countries, however, the rates are almost equal. Almost one hundred seventy countries have signed a treaty called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The (WHO) is calling on those governments to ban tobacco advertising to the fullest extent possible and to do more to protect women.
This agreement seeks mainly to reduce the demand and supply of tobacco products to these member countries. This year marks five years since the treaty has been put in place to eradicate the extensive use of tobacco. Some member states who have signed the agreement are playing their part in eradicating tobacco use by banning the sale of tobacco products to young people while some request health warnings on tobacco products. The (WHO) estimates that tobacco use caused one hundred million deaths in the twentieth century. If current rates continue, that number could reach one billion in this century.
Events are planned in a number of countries to mark World No Tobacco Day. Many of the events are aimed at persuading people, especially the young, not to start smoking. Others aim to educate people about the many health benefits of quitting.

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