Sierra Leone: WHO to Release Grim Report On Tobacco Use

Source from:  Concord Times (Freetown) 7 February 2008 02/13/2008

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the world and one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. It kills 5.4 million people a year. Unchecked, the death toll could increase to more than 8 million a year by 2030. To intensify efforts to reverse this growing epidemic, the world health organization is releasing a new report which provides, for the first time, an analysis of the state of tobacco use and control efforts across the world. The report not only documents this in unprecedented detail but also presents a roadmap that identifies the most powerful way forward. WHO director-general Dr Margaret Chan, and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, will hold a news conference on the report in New York. Bloomberg Philanthropies helped fund the report. Enditem