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PAHO NEWS:  Press Releases, Job Vacancies, and Other
Information from the Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO) via the Canadian Society for International Health
(CSIH) [log in to unmask]; Technical Representative in
Canada for PAHO
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Smoking called serious public health problem, with 3
million deaths worldwide
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Smoking is one of the most serious public health
problems at the world level and causes 3 million deaths
annually worldwide, according to a document of the Pan
American Health Organization (PAHO), in a recent meeting
of the Organization's Executive Committee.

The total number of avoidable deaths attributed to
tobacco in the Americas is 670,000 every year. Of these,
135,000 correspond to Latin America and the Caribbean
and 500,000 to the United States, according to the
study.

The prevention and control of tobacco consumption is one
of the main themes in the agenda of the Executive
Committee which includes high-level Ministry of Health
officials from Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Colombia,
Chile, Panama, Paraguay, Cuba, Canada, the United States
and Venezuela, among others. The Committee is presided
by Chile.

The current level of tobacco consumption, linked to
increases in death and disease from noncommunicable
diseases in the Region, has not decreased despite
limited measures that have been taken to combat it, and
additional measures are needed, according to Dr. Enrique
Madrigal, PAHO's expert in tobacco.  He estimated that
one third of the adults of Latin America and the
Caribbean are smokers, which puts them at the same level
as Canada and slightly higher than the United States of
America.

In Canada, a comprehensive approach to tobacco control
has met with success in cutting smoking rates, said Nick
Previsich, scientific advisor at Health Canada,  The
effort has included restrictions on publicity, control
of sales to minors, health warnings on cigarette packs,
prohibitions on smoking in public places, increased taxes
on tobacco, continuing education on smoking, and support
for smoking cessation programs, he said.

Mary Lou Valdez of the U.S. Office of International and
Refugee Health said, "We consider PAHO's leadership
critical to build effective momentum in tackling the
health challenges posed by smoking."

The Executive Committee submits its recommendations to
the Pan American Sanitary Conference or to the Directing
Council of PAHO and is discussing a  comprehensive plan
of action to reduce the problems linked to smoking in
the Region.

The sessions run through June 26. The Committee,
consisting of Representatives from nine Member
Governments, meets twice a year and its members are
elected for periods of three years.

PAHO, which also serves as the regional office for the
Americas, works with all the countries of the Americas
to improve the health and raise the living standards of
their peoples.

For more information please contact the Office of
Public Information, Tel (202) 974-3459, Fax (202) 974-
3143, e-mail:  [log in to unmask] 525 Twenty-Third
Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20037, USA
http:\\www.paho.org

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This document is available, with full formatting and
accents, at http://www.csih.org/paho_ndx.html