The World : War on Tobacco Declared

The World Health Organization’s annual assembly in Geneva called for an all-out war against tobacco smoking. It urged its 166 member nations to “abate the smoking pandemic” by the end of the century through health warnings, education, and by protecting young people and nonsmokers against “this noxious form of environmental pollution.” A resolution adopted unanimously by an assembly committee said that tobacco contains cancer-causing substances and kills at least 1 million people a year. It added that links between smoking and other fatal and disabling diseases have been scientifically proved.