WHO / WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY

To mark World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) is launching a new guide to plain packaging of tobacco products, claiming lives can be saved by reducing demand for tobacco products. WHO

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:40
• Production Date: 31 May 2016
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO
• Subject Topical: NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES; PUBLIC HEALTH
• MAMS Id: 1633003
• Parent Id: 1633003
• Alternate Title: unifeed160531c

Description

STORY: WHO / WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY
TRT: 1:40
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUGE: ENGLISH /NATS

DATELINE: 27 MAY 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Shotlist

1. Tilt down, plain packaging poster
2. Various shots, details from the poster
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director for the Prevention of Noncommunicalbe Diseases, World Health Organization:
“WHO is recommending plain packaging to the world, recommending the world to get ready for plain packaging because it reduces the glamour of tobacco products and that is totally appropriate for a product that kills needlessly up to 6 million people per year. It is the only legal product known to mankind that kills up to half of its consumers when used as recommended by manufacturers.”
4. Wide shot, McGrady with reporter
5. Close up, cigarette packs in hands
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Benn McGrady, Technical officer (Legal), World Health Organization:
“Plain pack reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products, it limits the availability of tobacco companies to advertise their products on packaging, it makes health warning more effective and limits misleading tobacco packaging.”
7. Cutaway, packs
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Benn McGrady, Technical officer (Legal), World Health Organization:
“We have a huge amount of evidence that plain packaging works, we have approximately 80 peer reviewed original empirical studies, we have three systematic reviews of the evidence, we now a post-implementation review out of Australia, the first country to implement and just last week a decision from the high court England and Wales.”
9. Close up, packs

Storyline

To mark World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) is launching a new guide to plain packaging of tobacco products, claiming lives can be saved by reducing demand for tobacco products.

Plain packaging of tobacco products restricts or prohibits the use of logos, colours, brand images and promotional information on packaging other than brand and product names displayed in a standard colour and font style.

Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director for the Prevention of Noncommunicalbe Diseases of the WHO said WHO is “recommending the world to get ready for plain packaging because it reduces the glamour of tobacco products and that is totally appropriate for a product that kills needlessly up to 6 million people per year.

Bettcher also said “it is the only legal product known to mankind that kills up to half of its consumers when used as recommended by manufacturers.”

In December 2012, Australia became the first country to fully implement plain packaging. On 20 May 2016, France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland each began implementation of plain packaging. Ireland is also preparing to introduce the measure, while other countries are exploring the option.

Benn McGrady, Technical officer of the WHO explained that “plain pack reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products, it limits the availability of tobacco companies to advertise their products on packaging, it makes health warning more effective and limits misleading tobacco packaging.”

Plain packaging is recommended in WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) guidelines as part of a comprehensive approach to tobacco control that includes large graphic health warnings and comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

Australia introduced plain packaging, in conjunction with new and enlarged health warnings, in 2012. Between December 2012 and September 2015, there was an additional 0.55 percentage point fall in smoking prevalence among those aged 14 and above attributable to the packaging changes, according Australia’s post-implementation review. This equates to more than 108,000 people quitting, not relapsing or not starting to smoke during that period.

Tobacco-related illness is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. Approximately one person dies from a tobacco-caused disease every six seconds, equivalent to almost 6 million people a year. This is forecast to rise to more than 8 million people a year by 2030, with more than 80% of these preventable deaths occurring among people living in low-and middle-income countries.

Tobacco use is one of the largest preventable causes of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Tobacco control represents a powerful tool in improving health in communities and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG target 3.4 is to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by one-third by 2030, including cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, cancers and diabetes. NCDs accounted for the deaths of 16 million people under the age of 70 years in 2012 – 82% of which occurred in developing countries.

The WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) entered into force in 2005. Parties are obliged to take a number of steps to reduce demand and supply for tobacco products. Actions addressed in the Convention include protecting people from exposure to tobacco smoke, banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, banning sales to minors, requiring health warnings on tobacco packaging, promoting tobacco cessation, increasing tobacco taxes and creating a national coordinating mechanism for tobacco control. There are 180 Parties to the Convention.