UN health agency calls for improving tobacco regulations to save lives

Current methods to regulate tobacco products are not protecting public health and must be improved in order to save lives, according to a new publication released today by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).

The monograph, entitled "Advancing Knowledge on Regulating Tobacco Products," calls for an overhaul of the existing testing methods that measure the tar, nicotine and other yields of tobacco and tobacco smoke, and urges the establishment of a new basis for measuring, regulating and labelling tobacco products globally.

The study recommends that governments consider setting up a new basis for measurement of tar and nicotine yields and regulating tobacco product additives. It also calls for removing misleading "low tar" or "lights" branding. In addition, the publication proposes the development of regulations covering all nicotine-containing products as well as a common international strategy on the future of tobacco product modification.

Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland

"A cigarette is a euphemism for a cleverly crafted product that delivers just the right amount of nicotine to keep its user addicted for life before killing him or her," said WHO Director-General Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland. "Tobacco needs to be globally regulated if we are to save lives," she stressed.

WHO estimates that currently, 4 million people die due to tobacco every year. The agency warns that the death toll could rise to 10 million by 2030 in the absence of more effective tobacco product regulation.