On World No Tobacco Day, Special Attention Goes to Women, Girls

On World No Tobacco Day, Special Attention Goes to Women, Girls

This is the VOA Special English Development Report, , from voaspecialenglish.com | http World No Tobacco Day is celebrated each day on May thirty-first. The observance is meant to bring attention to the growing use of tobacco and its deadly effects. The World Health Assembly established the event in nineteen eighty-seven. This year, special attention is being given to the harmful effects of tobacco marketing to women and girls. The World Health Organization says tobacco kills nearly five and a half million people a year -- another victim every six seconds. Tobacco use is a top cause of deaths worldwide. One billion people smoke. More than eighty percent of tobacco users live in low and middle income countries. The WHO says the tobacco industry has increasingly directed its marketing campaigns at women and girls. Women currently represent about twenty percent of smokers. But tobacco use among girls is increasing. Data collected from one hundred fifty-one countries show that about seven percent of young girls now smoke. That compares with twelve percent of boys. In some countries, however, the rates are almost equal. Almost one hundred seventy countries have signed a treaty called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The WHO is calling on those governments to ban tobacco advertising to the fullest extent possible and to do more to protect women. The agreement seeks to reduce the demand and supply of tobacco products. This year marks the fifth anniversary since the ...
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