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Adventists Support Tobacco Control Treaty

SILVER SPRING, MD, USA. "As smoking rates decline in the United States and other western nations, the tobacco industry has aggressively targeted developing nations to find new customers for its deadly products." (Campaign for Tabacco Free Kids)

At the opening ceremony on June 16 in Geneva, 28 countries signed the new global tobacco treaty. This treaty was adopted last month by all 192 Member States of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO). The first international treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) requires countries to set new labeling and clean indoor air controls, restrict tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, and strengthen legislation to clamp down on tobacco smuggling. Tax and price increases are two issues that will be considered as well.

As soon as 40 countries ratify the Convention, it becomes law for those countries and thereafter, for other countries that ratify it. "The Seventh-day Adventist Church has always been actively involved in public information and prevention programs related to tobacco," said Dr. Peter Landless, associate director for the Department of Health Ministries for the Adventist Church, and executive director for the International Commission for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Dependency (ICPA). "The Church pioneered the 5-Day Plan to Stop Smoking, which was further refined into the Breathe-Free Program that has enjoyed much success worldwide.

Adventists are at the forefront of the battle against tobacco. One such individual is Dr. Harley Stanton who works with the WHO at the UN on tobacco programs. There are active programs in Russia, the Philippines, Ukraine, Europe, Africa, North and South America in lobbying for tobacco control and more prevention," Landless added.

"Globally, about 5 million people die from tobacco-related illness each year," said Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, UN Liaison director for the Adventist Church. "For more than 40 years, the tobacco industry has known that nicotine in cigarettes is addictive. The WHO estimates that by the year 2030, 10 million people will be dying each year from tobacco use. Approximately 80,000 to 100,000 young people around the world become addicted to tobacco each day. If current trends continue, 250 million children alive today will die from tobacco-related diseases."

The Church's stance on smoking and tobacco is very clear, as evident in its statement adopted by the General Conference Session in Utrecht in 1995, which states "Cigarette smoking is the single greatest preventable cause of death in the world we believe that the ethics of prevention requires in every country a uniform ban on all tobacco advertising, stricter laws prohibiting smoking in non-residential public places, more aggressive and systematic public education, and substantially higher taxes on cigarettes."

For more information on the church's health programs, visit http://health20-20.org. [Viola Hughes]