Tobacco a major obstacle to children's rights: UN health agency

Tobacco poses a major obstacle to children's rights, infringing upon their basic health and welfare, and exposing them to child labour in many parts of the world, the lead United Nations health agency said today.

In a report entitled "Tobacco and the Rights of the Child", the World Health Organization (WHO) encouraged countries to uphold the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by taking all necessary measures to protect children from tobacco, and ensuring that the interests of children take precedence over those of the tobacco industry.

Tobacco use among young people continues to rise as the tobacco industry aggressively promotes its products to a new generation of potential smokers, WHO says. According to the report, 250 million children alive today will be killed by tobacco if current consumption trends continue.

The report also reveals that tobacco companies have been implicated in child labour in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malawi, the United States and Zimbabwe. In that context, WHO says that implementing comprehensive tobacco control is not only a valid concern falling within the legislative competence of governments, but is a binding obligation under the Convention on child rights.