Tobacco kills: It shouldn’t be advertised, glamorized or subsidized

WHO has selected “Tobacco-free films and entertainment” as the theme for World No Tobacco Day 2003 to highlight how the tobacco industry uses the entertainment industry to:

directly and indirectly promote its products

appeal to young people

spread the deadly and debilitating tobacco epidemic

circumvent tobacco control laws and regulations.

Tobacco is the only legal consumer product that kills when used exactly as intended by the manufacturer. World No Tobacco Day will help to save more lives and to limit the damage caused by tobacco use.

The key messages of this year’s World No Tobacco Day are:

The tobacco industry exploits the entertainment industry.

Young people are being lured to addiction through glamour and appeal.

Film stars and celebrities should stop the direct and indirect marketing of tobacco products.

The entertainment industry should strive to regulate the explicit use of tobacco products on screens.

All countries have a moral obligation to ratify and fully implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to save lives.