This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

WHO highlights need for more protective measures against tobacco

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an appeal on Monday for all countries to do more to protect people from the dangers of tobacco and second-hand smoke.

In the last 15 years since WHO's MPOWER tobacco control measures were introduced globally, smoking rates have fallen.

An impressive 70 per cent of the world’s population are now shielded by at least 

one protective measure, including taxes on tobacco products, advertising bans or smoke-free spaces. 

The UN health agency’s latest report indicates that 74 countries protect their populations with smoke-free laws in public indoor areas.

But more protective measures are needed across the board, WHO said, particularly to protect against second-hand smoke and “denormalise” smoking.

Here’s WHO’s Director for Health Promotion, Dr. Rüdiger Krech speaking in Geneva: 

“Let's not forget that tobacco use continues to be one of the biggest public health threats. With 8.7 million people dying from tobacco-related diseases every year, 1.3 million of these deaths are amongst non-smokers that are subjected to second-hand smoke.”

Despite progress against tobacco dangers in recent years, 44 countries have yet to adopt any of the WHO’s recommendations on tobacco control, and more need to strengthen compliance, the UN health agency said. 

WHO experts continue to urge countries to take action against what they’ve called a tobacco epidemic and push back against the tobacco and nicotine industries.

UN condemns seizure of power by force in Niger 

The UN’s special representative for Niger has strongly condemned the seizure of power by force, following an attempted coup and the detention of Niger’s President on Wednesday.

Speaking at an emergency summit on Sunday, the Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Léonardo Santos Simão, said that democratic governance, peace and stability in Niger were at risk.                                                                                                                                                                        Mr. Simão further warned that this will exacerbate an already deteriorating security situation in the Sahel region before assuring the Economic Community of West African States that the UN would continue to provide aid to vulnerable populations. 

On Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres demanded the immediate and unconditional release of President Mohamed Bazoum, after a group of soldiers announced the President’s removal on Wednesday evening.

According to reports, West African nations intend to impose sanctions and threaten force unless President Bazoum is reinstated within seven days.

IPCC Head warns against overstating the threat of warming

“The world won’t end if it warms by more than 1.5 degrees.” 

That’s the message from Jim Skea, the newly appointed head of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 

Speaking to reporters, the UN climate expert warned against putting too much value on the target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius - even though UN estimates suggest that countries’ current commitments are likely to fall short of this goal. 

He said that people should not despair if global temperatures were to increase by this amount, and encouraged optimism as new measures taken are weakening the impacts of climate change.

The UN expert, who has been involved with the IPCC since its foundation in the 1990s, said that over-communicating this Armageddon message will paralyse people and prevent them from looking to solutions.

Mr. Skea insisted that the short-term focus should be on expanding renewable electricity to reduce emissions, while in the longer term, technological solutions such as underground carbon capture would become necessary.

Caitlin Kelly, UN News.