WHO: Stop "the illnesses spiral" in Asia
Heart disease and strokes are set to become the leading killers in Asia. A senior WHO advisor is now urging governments to act before the illnesses spiral out of control:
Heart disease and strokes have long been regarded as ailments that affect mostly developed countries, but that is no longer true, said Judith Mackay, tobacco-control campaigner and senior policy advisor to the World Health Organization.
"They are major health problems in Asia and they will surely increase unless we take multi-strategy multi-faceted action to prevent them," said Mackay.
Mackay was named as one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time Magazine in 2006 for her fight against the tobacco industry. My kind of hero.
Reuters: Asian governments must stop heart disease pandemic
Here is a great quote from Time Magazine's article about Judith Mackay last year:
Her biggest triumph so far has been the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, drawn up between all 192 member states of the WHO and stipulating restrictions on tobacco ads and public smoking. Mackay was instrumental in persuading states to sign it and in framing its provisions. Prior to this, she spent years advising the governments of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam on tobacco-control policies and legislation. A gifted diplomat, she charms her way to the top, exerting influence where it matters most. She's also unafraid of artful compromise. "If a health minister tells me that he can't ban tobacco advertising on TV, then I'll ask them to ban it between 4pm and 8pm, or whatever. They almost always agree."
There are signs that such efforts are working. Kyodo reports that smoking among men in Japan has declined by 20 percentage points from 59.7 percent in 1986 to below 40 percent in 2005. Unfortunately, more women are smoking these days: 11.3 percent of women smoke compared to 8.6 percent in 1986...
Kyodo/Yahoo: Smoking among Japanese men continues to fall, drops below 40%
Heart disease and strokes have long been regarded as ailments that affect mostly developed countries, but that is no longer true, said Judith Mackay, tobacco-control campaigner and senior policy advisor to the World Health Organization.
"They are major health problems in Asia and they will surely increase unless we take multi-strategy multi-faceted action to prevent them," said Mackay.
Mackay was named as one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time Magazine in 2006 for her fight against the tobacco industry. My kind of hero.
Reuters: Asian governments must stop heart disease pandemic
Here is a great quote from Time Magazine's article about Judith Mackay last year:
Her biggest triumph so far has been the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, drawn up between all 192 member states of the WHO and stipulating restrictions on tobacco ads and public smoking. Mackay was instrumental in persuading states to sign it and in framing its provisions. Prior to this, she spent years advising the governments of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam on tobacco-control policies and legislation. A gifted diplomat, she charms her way to the top, exerting influence where it matters most. She's also unafraid of artful compromise. "If a health minister tells me that he can't ban tobacco advertising on TV, then I'll ask them to ban it between 4pm and 8pm, or whatever. They almost always agree."
There are signs that such efforts are working. Kyodo reports that smoking among men in Japan has declined by 20 percentage points from 59.7 percent in 1986 to below 40 percent in 2005. Unfortunately, more women are smoking these days: 11.3 percent of women smoke compared to 8.6 percent in 1986...
Kyodo/Yahoo: Smoking among Japanese men continues to fall, drops below 40%
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