Ban all tobacco adverts says the WHO

May 31st was ' World No Tobacco Day' and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has used that as an opportunity to call on all governments to ban tobacco advertising.

The WHO says this will help discourage young people form starting to smoke.

The WHO has pointed the finger of blame directly at cigarette manufacturers and says they are guilty of using increasingly sophisticated marketing techniques to persuade young people, particularly girls in poorer countries, to start smoking.

The UN agency believes exposure to tobacco advertising encourages young people to take up smoking and says current restrictions are not enough to protect the world's 1.8 billion young people, who are now targeted through the Internet, magazines, films, concerts and sporting events.

According to the WHO only 5% of the world's population are protected by comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship which send out 'dangerous messages'.

In Russia, which has few anti-smoking laws, the number of female and adolescent smokers has tripled in the last decade, while in Canada, where smoking and cigarette advertising has been severely restricted, the numbers of smokers are at their lowest in 40 years.

Many countries including the UK and Australia are considering banning cigarette vending machines and packets of 10 to prevent children and young people smoking.

The WHO accuses the tobacco giants of continuing to attract young people by "falsely" associating cigarettes with "glamour, energy and sex appeal".

The WHO says most smokers begin before 18 and almost a quarter before the age of 10, and almost all were affected by advertisements for tobacco.

Douglas Bettcher, director of the WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative, says a full ban is needed because as one form of advertising is banned, the tobacco industry simply shifts its vast resources to another channel.

WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan says in order to survive, the tobacco industry needs to replace those who quit or die with new young consumers and does so by creating a complex 'tobacco marketing net' that ensnares millions of young people worldwide, with potentially devastating health consequences."

The Director-General says a ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship is a powerful tool which can be used to protect the world’s youth.

The developing world has more than 80% of the world’s youth, and this is where the most aggressive and predatory marketing strategies take place and tobacco companies attempt to weaken cultural opposition to their products where women have traditionally not used tobacco.