More news at Woman fined for illegal sharing of copyrighted music.
Friday, June 19, 2009
More news at Woman fined for illegal sharing of copyrighted music.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Note : There will be no centralized counseling at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Suranjoy Singh (51kg) : Gold
Nanao Singh(48kg) : Silver
Vijender (75kg), Jitender (54kg), Paramjit Samota (+91kg), Dinesh Kumar (81kg) : Bronze
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Established by the World Health Assembly, this day marks the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the Nobel laureate who discovered the ABO blood group system. There is broad international support to raise awareness of the need for safe blood around the world and encourage eligible individuals to donate blood regularly so that blood is readily available for all who need it when required.
The global theme for 2009 - achieving 100 per cent non-remunerated donation of blood and blood components, places a renewed emphasis on improving the safety and sufficiency of blood supply. As more and more countries achieve the goal of 100 per cent voluntary non-remunerated blood donation, there is growing appreciation of the vital role of voluntary donors who donate blood on a regular basis. Not only are they the safest blood donors, they are also the foundation of sustainable national blood supplies that are sufficient to meet the needs of all patients requiring blood and blood components.
The focus of this theme is the use of innovative approaches to community participation to increase voluntary blood donation, maintenance of a stable pool of regular voluntary donors and establishing or expanding blood component programmes based on hundred percent voluntary non-remunerated donation to achieve self-sufficiency.
|One world, one blood |
Club 25 is a youthful concept, promoting the value of saving lives by giving blood. Through Club 25 young people are encouraged to attend a blood centre, learn about healthy lifestyles and to give blood regularly, aiming for about 20 blood donations by age of 25 years. They also share what they have learned with their communities through health promotion activities to prevent HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and other health risk behaviours; in addition there are opportunities to be active in promoting first aid, good nutrition, physical exercise and road safety.
|Club 25 is a youthful concept, promoting the value of saving lives by giving blood. |
Thousands of young people all over the world are taking part in Club 25 activites.
|In march 2006, 223 people from 66 different countries and 46 National Societies of Red Cross and Red Crescent attended the 10th International Colloquium on the recruitment of voluntary, non-renumerated blood donors in Santiago (Chile). |
Participants discussed ways of building quality into donor recruitment strategies. They presented communication and education tools used to scale up the impact of voluntary, non-renumerated blood donation around the world, particularly focused in Latin America.
Two workshops were hosted to explore possibilities for the creation of so-called Club 25 Programmes, and the establishment of international networks between young people involved in various Club 25 Programmes around the world.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The racist attack on Indians are still continued in Australia and Australian government failed to take any reasonable steps to stop these attack. First it blatantly refused to accept the attacks on Indians as racist attack but truth always triumphs and Australian authority were forced to accept that some attacks on Indian students are racist and they are taking steps but it seems they take steps against Indians only when students protest they vehemently arrest students also when students tried to protect their brethren by patrolling stations in group Australian police can't digest that and when the water rises above nose there was news that one Indian student attacked the Australian who was abusing him and in self defence he take that extreme step. Indian Government also seems not taking any effective steps and Union Tourism minister Kumari Selja even postpone the visit to Australia.
Meanwhile there is also not so good news from Canada where in fresh incident of racist attack on Indian comes in limelight where in Vancouver six Indian students were attacked by four white Canadians and they shouted racist abuse on Indian students and beat them up.But unlike Australian police Canadian police is quick enough and arrest the attackers.
Also the fact is that Indians and Asian community face racism at various point of time in previous years as pointed out by some students who lived in Australia, US, Canada and UK and how to forget the Big Brother episode that involves Shilpa Shetty.
After Asutralia, racist attacks in Canada
Update : More racist attack on Indians
With one hour of solar charging through solar panel at back of the phone, it will provide talk time of 5-10 minutes. With about 40 hours of charging it will provide full battery power.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Ireland won by 6 wkts (with 10 balls remaining) making Bangladesh out of ICC Twenty20 World Cup and thus India and Ireland advances to quarterfinals (Group of Eight) from Group A, no one think about that and Bangladesh was favourite but after England lost to Netherlands there was signs of some exciting cricket in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup Cricket and the same tempo was seen in the second match when Sri Lanka won by 6 wkts (with 6 balls remaining) and defeated tournament favourite Australia and eliminating Australia out of the tournament due to their first loss in the hands of West Indies and the Group C really becomes group of death. One can now see some more excitement in Group where England and Netherlands both won one game each but Pakistan has to win against Netherlands if it has to keep in the race.
Bangladesh 137/8 (20/20 ov)
Ireland 138/4 (18.2/20 ov)
Ireland won by 6 wickets (with 10 balls remaining)
Australia 159/9 (20/20 ov)
Sri Lanka 160/4 (19.0/20 ov)
Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)
More detailed match analysis at : Yahoo Cricket and Cricinfo
Roger Federer def. Robin Söderling, 6–1, 7–6(1), 6–4
- It was Roger Federer's 2nd singles title of the year, his 59th overall, his 14th Grand Slam title and his first title at Roland Garros.
Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Dinara Safina, 6–4, 6–2
- It was Svetlana Kuznetsova's 2nd singles title of the year, her 11th overall. It was her 2nd Grand Slam title.
Lukas Dlouhy / Leander Paes def. Wesley Moodie / Dick Norman, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Anabel Medina Garrigues / Virginia Ruano Pascual def. Victoria Azarenka / Elena Vesnina, 6–1, 6–1
Liezel Huber / Bob Bryan def. Vania King / Marcelo Melo, 5–7, 7–6(5), 10–7
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Government has decided to appoint Vice Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma, PVSM,AVSM,ADC, presently Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Eastern Naval Command as the next Chief of the Naval Staff with effect from the afternoon of 31st August, 2009. The present Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, PVSM, AVSM, ADC retires from service on that day.
Born on 14 November 1950, Vice Admiral Verma was commissioned on 1 July 1970 into the Executive Branch of Indian Navy.
During his long and distinguished service spanning nearly 39 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments. Vice Admiral Verma's Sea Command includes Leander class Frigate "Udaigiri", Guided Missile Destroyer "Ranvir" and the Aircraft Carrier "Viraat". Before taking over as FOC-in-C, Eastern Naval Command, he was Vice Chief of the Naval Staff at the Naval Headquarters.
Vice Admiral Verma is an alumnus of Royal Naval Staff College, UK and Naval War College, USA. He has instructional experience at National Defence College as Senior Directing Staff and at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He also commanded the Naval Academy at Goa.
Vice Admiral Verma was decorated with Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM) and Ati Vishist Seva Medal(AVSM). He is one of the Honorary ADCs of the Supreme Commander. He is married to Mrs. Madhulika and the couple has two sons.
Source : PIB
The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil presented Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puruskar (IGPP) for the years 2006 and 2007 on World Environment Day. These awards are given in recognition to those who have made measurable and major impact in the protection of Environment. Two awards, jointly in organization category and two awards in individual category have been given for each year. Congratulating the awardees, Smt. Patil said the work of awardees and their commitment to the environmental cause will bring good result. Quoting from Varaha Purana, the President said as long as mountains and green forests are flourished on the earth, our future generations will survive and live happily. She asked all to join in efforts to protect and conserve recourses of our planet and appealed to take a pledge to plant a tree and nurture it.
For the Year 2006, in organization category, Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., Assam and 130 Infantry Battalion (TA) Ecological, Uttarakhand have been presented IGPP award. In the individual category the first award was presented to Dr. J. Raghav Rao, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and the second award was presented to Smt. S. Annapurna, Vizianagaram , Andhra Pradesh.
For the Year 2007, two organizations, one from Karnataka and another from Uttar Pradesh got IGPP award jointly. These are BAIF Institutes of Rural Development, Tiptur (Karnataka) and Antyoday Nirbal Durbal Shoshit Mahila Evam Bal Kalyan Samiti, Lucknow, U.P. For the same Year, Shri Afzal Khatri & Smt. Nusrat Khatri, Mumbai, Maharashtra got the first IGPP award and Dr. Rachna Gaur, Rajsamand, Rajasthan in the individual category.
The organizations have been given Rs.5,00,000/-. In individual category, the first prize is of Rs.3,00,000/- and the second individual has been given Rs.2,00,000/-. Along with the cash prize, awardees is given a silver lotus trophy and a citation.
In reverential memory of late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, in the year 1987, instituted an award called "Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar (IGPP)". Smt. Indira Gandhi had made remarkable contribution in the field of eco-restoration and prompted the concept of sustainable development by combining our age old conservation ethics with the modern scientific and technological advances and emphasised the link between conservation, peace and eradication of poverty.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Google which leads the search engine wars with a comfortable margin having a major chunk of all searches with about 60 % of total search using google make google a big brother of the business and yahoo and microsoft doing its best to catch up with google by providing something new. So it make some notable changes from its erstwhile search engines Live search.
Notable changes include the addition of search suggestions as you type and related searches (called "Explorer pane" on the left side of search results), based on semantic technology from PowerSet which Microsoft purchased in 2008 Bing also includes the ability to Save & Share search histories via Windows Live SkyDrive, Facebook, and e-mail.
And don't forget that recently Wolfram Alpha also come out with its search engine which computes result and is a step towards AI(Artificial Intelligence). Stats come up instantly when you ask distance between two cities, population of any country and so on.
Read More on Wolfram Alpha
Get to know Bing
Web Find what you're looking for and a whole lot more
Images Find the pictures that you've been wanting to see
Videos Watch your favourite shows and videos
Shopping Find, research, and buy the things you want
News Find out what's happening in the world today
Maps See where it is and how to get there
xRank See who and what everyone's searching for most
Read more at The Hindu News Update Service
The Students of the 565 Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) schools in the county have shown exemplary results in the Central Board of Secondary Education exams this year. The NVS schools have the highest pass percentage of 94.09 for Class XII, amongst all categories of schools, as against the national overall percentage of 81 per cent. For class X also, they have the highest pass percentage of 97.84 percent as against the national pass percentage of 88.84 per cent. 72 students from the NVS have been selected to the main list of IIT this year. Not only is the overall pass percentage the highest for NVS, children getting more than 90 per cent are at 8.32 per cent, also the highest amongst all categories of schools, the overall percentage for the country being 5.94 percent.
Two other centrally administered school organizations, the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan Schools, and the Central Tibetian Schools have the 2nd highest pass percentage at 91.32 per cent and the 3rd highest at 91.15 percent respectively for Class XII. For class X also, the KVS have the 2nd highest overall pass percentage among all schools at 96.35 and the Central Tibetian Schools have the 3rd highest pass percentage at 92.77.
The Navodaya Vidyalaya Schools take 75 per cent of their students from rural areas. The education in these completely residential starting from class VI is completely free and a large number of students are from the weaker sections of society.
For Result Visit UPSC WEBSITE
OR Download :
On the basis of the results of the Combined Defence Services Examination (I)-2009 held by the Union Public Service Commission in February, 2009, 8685 candidates with the following Roll Numbers have qualified for being interviewed by the Service Selection Board of the Ministry of Defence, for admission to (i) Indian Military Academy, Dehradun 128th Course commencing in January, 2010 (ii) Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala Course commencing in January, 2010 (iii) Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) Training Course for 187th F(P) Course commencing in January, 2010 (iv) Officers' Training Academy, Chennai 91st SSC Course (for Men) commencing in April, 2010 and (v) Officers' Training Academy, 5th SSC (Women Non-Technical) Course commencing in April, 2010.
2. The candidature of all the candidates, whose Roll Numbers are shown in the lists below, is provisional. In accordance with the conditions of the admission to the examination, they are required to submit the original certificates in support of age, educational qualifications, NCC (C) (Army Wing/Senior Division Air Wing/Naval Wing) etc. claimed by them to Army Headquarters, A.G.'s Branch/Rtg./CDSE Entry, West Block 3, Ground Floor, Wing No. I, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066 in case of IMA/SSC as their first choice and to Naval Headquarters (R&R Section), Room No. 204, C-Wing, Sena Bhawan, New Delhi-110011 in case of Naval first choice, and to PO3 (A) Air Headquarters, 'J' Block, Room No. 17, Opp. Vayu Bhawan, Moti Lal Nehru Marg, New Delhi-110011 in case of Air Force first choice. The original Certificates are to be submitted within two weeks of completion of the SSB Interview and not later than 13th November, 2009 (1st February, 2010 in case of SSC only).
3. The Union Public Service Commission have a Facilitation Centre near Examination Hall Building in its Campus. Candidates may obtain any information/clarification regarding their examination/recruitment on working days between 10.00 AM to 5.00 PM, in person or over telephone No. 011-23385271, 011-23381125 and 011-23098543 from this Facilitation Centre.
4. The marks-sheet of candidates who have not qualified shall be available on the Commission's website within 30 days from declaration/publication of the result and would be available on the website for a period of 60 days. The candidates will have access to the marks-sheet only after keying the Roll Numbers and date of birth. The printed/hard copies of the marks-sheet would however, be issued by the UPSC to candidates based on specific request received from individuals accompanied by a self addressed stamped envelope. The candidates desirous of obtaining the printed/hard copies of the marks-sheet should make request within thirty days of the display of marks on the Commission's website, beyond which no such request would be entertained.
UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
NEW DELHI - 110069 - JUNE 5, 2009/JYAISTHA 15, SAKA 1931
The contents of this result are informatory in nature. Candidates are advised to verify the same from Commission's office.
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has approved the reconstitution of the Planning Commission as follows :
Deputy Chairman - Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Member - Dr. Saumitra Chaudhuri
Member - Prof. Abhijit Sen
Member - Dr. (Ms) Syeda Hameed
Member - Dr. Mihir Shah
Member - Dr. Narendra Jadhav
Member - Shri B.K. Chaturvedi
The Prime Minister is the chairman of the Planning Commission.
Source : PIB
Friday, June 5, 2009
Based on the results of Engineering Services Examination held by the UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION in June 2008 and the interviews for Personality Test held in April – May 2009, the following are the lists, in order of merit, of candidates who have been recommended for appointment to:
(i) Civil Engineering Group;
(ii) Mechanical Engineering Group;
(iii) Electrical Engineering Group; and
(iv) Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering Group.
2. A total number of 414 candidates recommended for appointment in these four lists include 190 General, 129 Other Backward Classes, 62 Scheduled Castes and 33 Scheduled Tribes candidates (including 07 candidates belonging to Physically Handicapped category).
3. Appointments will be made according to the number of vacancies available and keeping in view the amended Rules and with due consideration to the provisions contained in rule 5(b) and 16 of the rules for the examination relating to restrictions on the eligibility of candidates admitted to the examination under age concession and allotment of candidates to various services according to ranks obtained and preference of services expressed by them. The number of vacancies reported by the Government for Group 'A' posts to be filled in for Civil Engineering Group is 160 (87 General, 41 Other Backward Classes, 19 Scheduled Castes and 13 Scheduled Tribes & these include 01 vacancy for PH-1 candidate); for Mechanical Engineering Group is 174 (94 General, 48 Other Backward Classes, 22 Scheduled Castes and 10 Scheduled Tribes and these include 02 vacancies for PH-1 & 03 for PH-3 candidates); for Electrical Engineering Group is 68 (31 General, 21 Other Backward Classes, 10 Scheduled Castes and 06 Scheduled Tribes and these include 02 vacancies for PH-3 candidates); for Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering Group is 80 (46 General, 19 Other Backward Classes, 11 Scheduled Castes and 04 Scheduled Tribes and these include 01 vacancy for PH-1 candidate).
4. The candidature of candidates with the following Roll Nos. is provisional.
CIVIL ENGINEERING GROUP
52518, 48995, 15156, 3761, 14763, 55982, 14740, 53826, 21885, 4807, 2987, 16256, 7023, 42532, 12743, 10422, 50061, 17831, 54584, 49300, 5124, 64979, 9162.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING GROUP
10696, 54770, 65, 7922, 50279, 25415, 33434, 25572, 12661, 43694, 3717, 39928, 963, 1808, 29905, 190, 55551, 325, 11441, 42581, 16169, 5469, 26857, 42334, 12923, 12216.
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING GROUP
3366, 46, 3104, 57631, 45111, 16522, 10588, 14212, 31738, 39380.
ELECTRONICS & TELECOMMUNICATION ENGINEERING GROUP
49783, 62761, 39243, 29478, 5437, 1143, 31973, 7209, 50304, 4969, 20152, 17760, 20235, 50650, 8748, 10419.
5. In accordance with Rule 13(iv) and (v) of the Engineering Services Examination Rules 2008, the Commission is maintaining a consolidated Reserve List of candidates for each group as under:
(i) Civil Engineer Group: 54 candidates, which include 27 General, 17 Other Backward Classes, 06 Scheduled Castes and 04 Scheduled Tribes candidates.
(ii) Mechanical Engineering Group: 30 candidates, which include 15 General, 11 Other Backward Classes and 04 Scheduled Castes candidates.
(iii) Electrical Engineering Group: 30 candidates, which include 15 General, 13 Other Backward Classes and 02 Scheduled Castes candidates.
(iv) Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering Group: 22 candidates, which include 11 General, 09 Other Backward Classes and 02 Scheduled Castes candidates.
6. Union Public Service Commission has a 'Facilitation Counter' near Examination Hall Building in its Campus. Candidates may obtain any information / clarification regarding their Examination / recruitments on working day between 10:00 A.M. and 05:00 P.M. in person or over Telephone Nos.23385271 and 23381125 from this Counter.
7. The mark sheet is likely to be available on the website www.upsc.gov.in after fifteen days from the date of publication of results for a period of thirty days. Candidates can access their mark sheet after keying in (i) the Roll Number and (ii) the date of birth. Printed copy of the mark sheet can be issued to the candidate on a specific request received with self-addressed envelope duly affixed with requisite postage stamps, within a period of thirty days from the date the marks are uploaded on the website.
UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
NEW DELHI-110069 4th June, 2009/Jayaistha-14, Saka 1931.
The contents of this website are informatory in nature. Candidates are advised to refer to the result published in 'Employment News' or Contact UPSC's Facilitation Counter for the same.
ADDRESS BY THE HON'BLE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRIMATI PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL, TO PARLIAMENT (English Version)
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Motivation for the RTI Awards
Despite the power of RTI to transform Indian democracy, the Act faces stiff opposition from many sections of the government, particularly the bureaucracy. For example many Officers are not performing satisfactorily. Some Information Commissioners, who are the final adjudicating authority under the Act, are perceived to be sympathetic to bureaucrats. But there are many among the bureaucrats who are committed to transparency and honesty. They go over and beyond the call of duty to implement the RTI Act in letter and spirit.
Our intent is to honour and recognize the best among these officers and commissioners. We hope that by recognizing their contribution they can serve as role models for the bureaucratic community as a whole and encourage others to follow in their footsteps and strive to emulate their achievements. The awards will also serve as an opportunity to gather valuable data about the performance of a large number of PIOs and Information Commissioners across the country. This data can go a long way in identifying shortcomings in the current system of RTI and suggesting possible reforms.
The Award ceremony is an opportunity for us to recognize the winners of this year's awards in person. We intend to give this ceremony maximum visibility across the country and the world. We are privileged to have the support of NDTV, Hindustan Times, Dainik Jagran, Mathrubhumi, Andhra Jyoti, Deshonnati, Dhoritri in this endeavor. Our panel of jurors will be attending the event (schedule permitting) to personally congratulate the winners. A national level dignitary (to be announced) will be the Chief Guest for the ceremony. The Awards Ceremony will be held in November 2009 in New Delhi. Exact date of the event is yet to be finalized.
Award for the Best Citizen of the Year
Any Indian citizen who has filed one or more RTI Application/s and has either:
- Received a response to his/her RTI application(s) on or before 31st December 2008, or
- Never received any response to his/her RTI application till 30th May 2009
Award for the Best Public Information Officer of the Year
Any government officer who has worked as a Public Information Officer (PIO) for any period of time during the calendar year 2008 (1st January 2008 to 31st December 2008) is eligible.
Award for the Best Information Commissioner of the Year
Information Commissioners need not apply. All Information Commissioners are automatic nominees
Important Dates :
Opening Date of Call for Nominations 1st June 2009
Last date for Receipt of Nominations 30th June 2009
Date for Award Ceremony To be declared (November, 2009)
More information at : Public Cause Research Foundation
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
RAS Mains Time Table
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Nearly a million student appeared in AIEEE conducted on 26th April at various centres all over India. This test is conducted for admission in various BE, B Tech, B Planning and B Arch courses in National Institutes of Technology, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Deemed university in Thanjavur and government funded institutes across India. There has also been 15% quota to be filled through this exam in various state engineering colleges. This year there was provision of negative marking and also the number of questions were reduced from 120 to 90. The coaching hub of Entrance exams, Kota this year also bring out good result including the present AIEEE result and coaching institute like Career Point, Bansals and Allen claim that their students has performed well in this exam also.
# In 1987, the World Health Assembly passed Resolution WHA40.38, calling for April 7, 1988 to be "a world no-smoking day".
# In 1988, Resolution WHA42.19 was passed, calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on May 31
Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. It is currently responsible for the death of one in ten adults worldwide (about 5 million deaths each year). If current smoking patterns continue, it will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2020. Half the people that smoke today -that is about 650 million people- will eventually be killed by tobacco.
The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2009 is "Tobacco Health Warnings", with an emphasis on the picture warnings that have been shown to be particularly effective at making people aware of the health risks of tobacco use and convincing them to quit. More and more countries are fighting back against the epidemic of tobacco by requiring that packages of tobacco show the dangers of the product's use, as called for in guidelines to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Call for pictorial warnings on tobacco packs
29 MAY 2009 | GENEVA -- WHO today urged governments to require that all tobacco packages include pictorial warnings to show the sickness and suffering caused by tobacco use.
WHO's call to action comes on the eve of World No Tobacco Day, 31 May. This year's campaign focuses on decreasing tobacco use by increasing public awareness of its dangers.
Studies reveal that even among people who believe tobacco is harmful, few understand its specific health risks. Despite this, health warnings on tobacco packages in most countries do not provide information to warn consumers of the risks.
A 2009 survey in China revealed that only 37% of smokers knew that smoking causes coronary heart disease and only 17% knew that it causes stroke. A 2003 survey in Syria found that only a small fraction of university students correctly identified cardiovascular disease as a hazard of cigarette or water pipe smoking. Research in other countries shows similar results.
The leading preventable cause of death, tobacco kills more than five million people every year. It is the only legal consumer product that kills when used exactly as intended by the manufacturer.
Effective health warnings, especially those that include pictures, have been proven to motivate users to quit and to reduce the appeal of tobacco for those who are not yet addicted. Studies carried out after the implementation of pictorial package warnings (warnings using pictures and text) in Brazil, Canada, Singapore and Thailand reveal remarkably consistent findings on the positive impact of the warnings.
"Health warnings on tobacco packages are a simple, cheap and effective strategy that can vastly reduce tobacco use and save lives," said WHO Assistant Director-General Dr Ala Alwan. "But they only work if they communicate the risk. Warnings that include images of the harm that tobacco causes are particularly effective at communicating risk and motivating behavioural changes, such as quitting or reducing tobacco consumption."
Yet only 10% of the people in the world live in countries that require warnings with pictures on tobacco packages.
"In order to survive, the tobacco industry needs to divert attention from the deadly effects of its products," said Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director of WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative. "It uses multi-million dollar promotional campaigns, including carefully crafted package designs, to ensnare new users and keep them from quitting."
"Health warnings on tobacco packages can be a powerful tool to illuminate the stark reality of tobacco use," Dr Bettcher added.
NOTE : In India pictorial warnings will be compulsory from 1st June 2009
Questions and Answers
1. Why do we need picture-based warnings on all tobacco packages?
- Tobacco kills more than five million people each year. It is the leading preventable cause of death – and the only legal consumer product that kills when used exactly as the manufacturer intends.
- Up to half of all smokers will die from a tobacco-related disease. Second-hand smoke harms everyone who is exposed to it. Yet studies reveal that too few people understand the real health risks of tobacco.
- The tobacco industry spends millions of dollars marketing its products, designing attractive packages to ensnare new users and keep them using tobacco. Its work is made easier because tobacco packages in most countries don't warn consumers about tobacco's deadly effects.
- Health warnings that combine words and pictures are one of the most cost-effective ways to increase public awareness of the serious health risks of tobacco use and to reduce tobacco consumption.
- Warnings that graphically show the terrible effects of using tobacco are more visible on packages than text-only warnings. They compete more successfully with the rest of the package design – standing out and sending a clear message.
- Not everyone can read. Picture-based warnings are critical for communicating health risks to the large number of people who are illiterate and for reducing health inequality.
- Picture-based warnings help counter the tobacco industry's use of branding and imagery. By detracting from the overall attractiveness of tobacco packaging, the warnings deter new users, who are often the most vulnerable to the companies' manipulation.
- Carefully designed warnings, especially those that include pictures, have been proven to motivate users to quit and to reduce the appeal of tobacco to those who are not yet addicted.
Studies carried out in countries that require picture-based warnings on tobacco packages reveal remarkably consistent findings on their positive effect. For example:
- In Canada, 58% of smokers said the warnings made them think more about the health effects of smoking.
- In Brazil, 67% of smokers said the warnings made them want to quit, and 54% said they made them change their opinion about the health consequences of smoking.
- In Singapore, 28% of smokers said the warnings made them smoke fewer cigarettes, and one out of six said they avoided smoking in front of children as a result of the warnings.
- In Thailand, 44% of smokers said the warnings made them "a lot" more likely to quit over the next month, and 53% said they made them think "a lot" about the health risks.
- In Canada, 58% of smokers said the warnings made them think more about the health effects of smoking.
- Evidence shows that picture-based warnings that arouse emotions are the most effective, particularly when combined with information to help or empower smokers to quit smoking, such as the telephone number of a tobacco helpline (a "quitline").
- Countries that have introduced picture-based warnings on tobacco packages have seen a rapid, dramatic increase in the awareness of tobacco health risks and the likelihood of quitting.
- It's possible people may become indifferent to particular pictures over time. That's why it's so important to change the warnings from time to time.
- Although tobacco users can cover or hide the pictures, studies show that few do and that such avoidance does not decrease the warnings' effectiveness in motivating behavioural change among smokers (such as quitting) and may actually increase it.
- Tobacco companies meticulously study their target users and finesse their package designs to make them as tempting as possible. Tobacco-free campaigns should try to counter these schemes. Using a variety of warnings, and changing them regularly, makes the messages more relevant to a variety of audiences and helps prevent them from becoming stale.
- Tobacco companies oppose picture-based warnings because – quite correctly – they see them as a threat to their business.
- Consumers of tobacco products have a right to know about the dangerous health consequences of tobacco use. Requiring tobacco companies to place warnings on packages is fair, just and legal.
- The tobacco industry has challenged the legality of picture-based warnings in court and failed. The industry lost its only serious court challenge against picture-based warnings before the Supreme Court of Canada in 2007.
- The tobacco industry's arguments that it takes too long and costs too much to implement picture-based warnings have no factual basis. Most of the costs of these consumer warnings are paid by the company itself – not by governments – and the savings from reduced health-care costs are enormous. Picture-based warnings can also be implemented quickly: the tobacco industry has demonstrated that it is able to produce packages with these warnings in as little as six months.
- More and more countries are requiring picture-based warnings on tobacco packaging. As of 31 May 2009, 23 jurisdictions with a combined population of nearly 700 million require large graphic health warnings on packaging. Several others – Djibouti, Latvia, Mauritius and Switzerland – have finalized legislation to implement pictorial warnings later in 2009 and in 2010.
- More than 160 countries have ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, making it one of the most widely embraced treaties in United Nations history. The treaty commits its Parties to requiring that tobacco products "carry health warnings describing the harmful effects of tobacco use". The Article 11 best-practice guidelines to the treaty stipulate that warnings should be large and clear, appear on both sides of tobacco packages and describe specific illnesses caused by tobacco.
- Yet only 10% of people live in countries that require warnings with pictures on tobacco packages.
- In 2008, WHO unveiled MPOWER – a technical assistance package of proven cost-effectiveness and ability to save lives.
- By implementing the six tobacco control measures comprising MPOWER, even low-income countries can go far towards countering the epidemic and meeting their commitments under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
- One study isn't enough to negate the broad body of research that shows graphic or shocking images are more effective than low-key images at motivating people to quit.
- Although participants in the study were said to have been more likely to remember low-key ads than attention-grabbing ads, the other important question is: What do people do with the information after they receive it? In other words, which type of ad is more effective at convincing people to stop using tobacco? So far, the preponderance of the evidence confirms that ads showing the physical harm and suffering caused by tobacco work best.
- It is still not clear if the lessons from the study of televised messages would apply to static warnings on tobacco packages. Nevertheless, we must continue to refine the tools we use to communicate the risks of tobacco. Studies of how the brain responds to tobacco warnings can be used in balance with other research and experience to plan even more effective communication strategies.
- Such health communications research is needed if we are to continue making progress against the epidemic of tobacco. The World Health Organization applauds all efforts to bring new evidence to light.
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is the first treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization. It was adopted by the World Health Assembly on 21 May 2003 and entered into force on 27 February 2005. It has since become one of the most widely embraced treaties in UN history and, as of today, has already 164 Parties.
The WHO FCTC was developed in response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic and is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health. The Convention represents a milestone for the promotion of public health and provides new legal dimensions for international health cooperation.
REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING
Around 5.4 million people die each year worldwide because of smoking and tobacco related disease, according to the World Health Organization – including over 438,000 Americans, 650,000 Europeans and 1.2 million people in China.
Tobacco use will kill 1 billion people worldwide in the 21st century if current smoking trends continue.
6.6 billion people are on this planet and 1.3 billion are smokers, the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and the World Lung Foundation (WLF) told the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health.
66 percent of all smokers live in just 15 countries, according to The Union and the WLF.
1.8 billion young people aged of 10 to 24 smoke cigarettes, according to the World Health Organization.
* More than 85 percent of these young smokers live in developing countries (WHO).
Nearly one billion men and 250 million women use tobacco every day around the world, according to a study presented at the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health.
There are thought to be 800 million smokers in developing countries and only 1.1 billion smokers worldwide (WHO). 45+ million Americans smoked in 2006. That's 20.8 percent of Americans, according to estimates from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
American men smoked at a rate of nearly 24 percent of the population, while 18 percent of women smoked.
2.4 million cases of cancer in the US from 1999 to 2004 were caused by tobacco use, according to the CDC
Ready to die in middle age? Keep smoking, according to researchers in Norway who tracked more than 50,000 people for a quarter century.
"Tobacco shortens the lifespan of smokers by 25 years with about 70% of people who begin smoking from their teens die by age 45", Dr. Akwasi Osei, Chief Psychiatrist at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital said.
Quit smoking and watch the risk of dying in middle age quickly fall. Give yourself the chance to live longer.
* 41 percent of men who smoked a pack or more a day died in middle age, compared to 14 percent of those who never smoked.
* 26 percent of women who smoked heavily died in middle age, compared to 9 percent of those who never smoked.
* 44.5 million Americans, currently smoke or about 21 percent of American adults, according to estimates from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
* In 2007, 168,000 Americans will die of cancer due to tobacco use (American Cancer Society).
* Smoking-related deaths in NYC fell more than 11 percent from 8,722 to 7,744 during 2002 to 2006 (after the New York City smoking ban).
* Up to 2.5 million people in China will die annually by 2025, if growing tobacco use in China continues at current trends the Beijing Daily Messenger reported, citing World Health Organization (WHO) estimates.
* "One hour with a shisha (hookah) is equivalent to something between 100 and 200 cigarettes," Dr Fatima el-Awa, from the World Health Organization's (WHO) regional office said.
# In the Western Pacific region, tobacco kills more than 3000 people each day. It's the leading cause of death. The Western Pacific has one third of the world's smokers, the highest rate of male smokers and the fastest increase of smoking among children and young women.
# This year lung cancer, primarily caused by smoking, 1,351,000 people: 975,000 men and 376,000 women, the American Cancer Society, according to the American Cancer Society.
# Each day about 13,500 people worldwide die from smoking-related diseases
# 13,000 Scots are killed every year by tobacco where about 30% of the population smokes. Up to 2,000 people die of passive smoking annually.
* Smoking kills regardless of class -- rich, poor, male or female, according to a 28 year long study by researchers from Glasgow University and NHS Scotland (British Medical Journal (BMJ) online).
* Smoking kills 6 times more Scots than accidents, murder, suicide, falls and poisoning combined (Edinburgh Evening News).
# In Ireland, 6,000 people die each year in Ireland from smoking-related diseases.
# In the Philippines, 20,000 Filipinos die from smoking-related illnesses each year (that's 2 every hour). Smoking is linked to 5 of the top 10 leading causes of deaths, according to Government data.
# In Croatia, a country with 4.4 million people, nearly 13,000 of them die each year because of smoking.
* 3,000 of those deaths are from passive smoking.
# Some 6,000 Cubans die from smoking-related illnesses.
# In New Zealand, around 5,000 kiwis die every year because of smoking-related diseases.
# About 7 people die each day in Uruguay from smoking-related causes including lung cancer, emphysema and other illnesses, anti-smoking groups estimate.
# In Nigeria, 6.5 million citizens are expected to die from smoking over time.
# In France, there are about 66,000 smoking-related deaths each year and up to 5,800 deaths from passive smoking, inhaling the smoke of smokers. About 12 million people are smokers, 25 percent of the population.
# Mexico has around 65,000 cigarette-related deaths a year. The country has 105 million people.
# In Spain, there are 50,000 smoking-related deaths annually. About 30 percent of Spaniards smoke.
# In South Korea, an estimated 49,000 people die each year of smoking-related diseases, according to the private Korean Association of Smoking and Health.
# 50,000 Iranians die each year from tobacco related illnesses, according to the government. Some say the number of deaths is 60,000 a year.
# In Malaysia, nearly 40,000 people died of smoking-related diseases in the last 5 years, now around 10,000 a year.
# In Vietnam, 40,000 citizens die every year due to diseases caused by smoking.
# In Canada, 37,000 people die from smoking every year, according to the Ministry of Health.
* In British Columbia, CAN, 6,000 people die each year from smoking.
* In the Alberta province, smoking claims 3,400 people's lives due to tobacco.
# In Egypt, there are 34,000 tobacco-related deaths each year.
# 33,000 Romanians die every year because of smoking. There were 6.5 million smokers aged 25 to 44 years old in Romania.
# In Saudi Arabia, 22,000 Saudis die of smoking related diseases every year, according to the Anti-Smoking Society.
# In Greece, where 45% of the population smokes, an estimated 20,000 people die of smoking-related diseases each year.
* 600 people die every year from passive smoking.
* The number of smokers in Greece has gone up 10 percent in 10 years.
* Passive smoking kills estimated 600 people each year in Greece.
# In South Africa, 20,000 adults die each year from smoking, according to the Medical Research Council (MRC).
# In Australia, 19,000 deaths a year are caused by smoking. Roughly 20% of the Australian population smokes.
* Aboriginal life expectancy is 17 years less than non-indigenous Australians. Their high smoking rate gets part of the blame. Government officials are trying to address the issue.
* More than 3400 Queenslanders die because of smoking each year.
* 3,000 Victorians die of smoking every year.
# Quitting smoking is being attributed to Victorian (Australia) males born in 2006 having a life expectancy of 80 years old. This puts them ahead of Japanese men's average life expectancy of 79 years.
# Highest US smoking death rate according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report:
* West Virginia
The lowest US death rates from smoking were Utah and Hawaii (CDC).
# In India, about 900,000 Indians a year die from smoking-related diseases, that's nearly one in 10 of all deaths in India. Half of Indian males use tobacco and it is becoming more popular with younger people.
* Nearly 6 lakh people die from bidi-smoking evey year in India, according to the Caught in a Death Trap: A Study on Bidi Rollers of West Bengal and Gujarat study.
# In Russia, smoking kills between 400,000 and 500,000 Russians every year from smoking ailments.
# In Japan, smoking is the leading cause of death and is responsible for 20% of all cancers. 50 percent of men and 14 percent of women smoke.
# In Indonesia, an estimated 200,000 people die each year of smoking-related diseases.
* About a quarter of deaths in 2005 were from smoking and 80 percent of lung and respiratory cancer cases were due to smoking.
* About 220 million cigarettes were smoked by Indonesians in 2006.
# About 140,000 Germans die every year from tobacco-related illnesses. Nearly one in three German adults smokes regularly. Some studies estimate that 3,000-4,000 deaths per year can be attributed to passive smoking.
# In Turkey, around 110,000 people each year die of smoking-related illnesses, according to official figures.
# Around 100 million people died because of tobacco use in the 20th century.
# 10 years of life are robbed from smokers because they die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers. Smoking also steals 10 years of physical functioning in old age (making smokers act really old), according to Live Fast, Die Young, Leave a Good-Looking Corpse by David M. Burns, MD (Archives of Internal Medicine).
# Smoking causes more death and disability than any single disease (World Health Organization).
# A "death clock" now follows the tobacco use death toll since October 1999, just under 40 million and counting. It was set up by the World Health Organization in October 2008.
# 650,000 Europeans die each year from tobacco-related diseases, EU figures reveal.
# Around 5.4 million deaths a year are caused by tobacco.
* Smoking is set to kill 6.5 million people in 2015 and 8.3 million humans in 2030, with the biggest rise in low-and middle-income countries.
* Every 6.5 seconds a current or former smoker dies, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
* An estimated 1.3 billion people are smokers worldwide (WHO).
# Over 443,000 Americans (over 18 percent of all deaths) die because of smoking each year. Secondhand smoke kills about 50,000 of them.
# 1.2 million people in China die because of smoking each year. That's 2,000 people a day.
# Tobacco use will kill 1 billion people in the 21st century if current smoking trends continue.
More than two thirds of the world's smokers live in just 10 countries (WHO):
* 100 million smokers in China are under the age of 18, according to the Chinese health ministry.
* Did you you that just 10 percent of Chinese Americans smoke in the US as opposed to the 36 percent smoking rate in China itself?
About 40 million of China's 130 million children aged 13 to 18 had tried smoking, according to a Health Ministry report.
56.8 percent male Chinese doctors smoke, highest in the world, according to a report by the China Preventive Medicine Association.
* "An average of 2.5 percent of household income is spent on tobacco in Egypt, which is more than on health and leisure," Dr Fatima el-Awa, from the World Health Organization's (WHO) regional office said.
* Nearly 17 percent of students in India, aged 15 and under, use some form of tobacco, mainly cigarettes, according to a survey conducted by the World Health Organization.
* Can you believe some 37 percent of kids below the age of 10 tried smoking cigarettes? This, however, is down from 49 percent of Indian children who tried their first cigarette (from WHO study above).
* Teaching tobacco use? More than a third of school personnel, including teaching staff, are tobacco users (from WHO study above).
* Around half the adult population are smokers or ex-smokers, according to the National Statistics Institute.
* In 1992, 7 percent of Russian women smoked vs almost 15 percent by 2003, according to a journal Tobacco Control report (see below).
* The number of Russian men who smoke rose from 57 percent to 63 percent.
* Cigarettes compromise just 19 percent of tobacco consumption. Bidis account for 53 percent, according to the Bidi Smoking and Public Health report by the Union Ministry of Health and Family.
* Did you know that 800 million bidis are sold in India each year (see above)
* Bidis contain more tar, nicotine and other toxic substances but less tobacco than traditional cigarettes.
* Young smokers make 31% of the total.
* An estimated 600 people die each year from passive smoking.
* Around one in three 12-18 year olds tried smoking.
* 10 percent of Greek 12-18 year olds is addicted to smoking, according to a 2007 survey.
* Smoking-related diseases cost Greece more than 2 billion euros a year.
* 63 percent of Indonesian men smoke
* Indonesia is the world's 5th largest cigarette market.
* A traditional clove cigarette, called "kretek", first introduced in the late 19th century to ward off illnesses, is still the cigarette of choice in Indonesia for about 90 percent of smokers.
* "Kreteks" have about twice the nicotine and tar levels of ordinary cigarettes.
* Some Indonesians smokers begin as early as 5 years old, government figures show.
* Over 90 percent of Indonesia children have watched cigarette TV ads, according to the South-East Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA).
* Japanese men's smoking rate was 60 percent in 1990 and currently 40 percent.
* Japanese women's smoking rate was 12 percent to 15 percent.
* 4 million Filipino young people between 11 and 19 years old smoke. About 21.6 percent of all young Filipino smokers vs about 18 percent in 2005 and 15 percent in 2003. And that number may continue to grow, in spite of new restrictions on tobacco ads, according to a 2007 survey commissioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Philippines health department.
* 1.8 million of these young smokers were girls.
Put your money where your butt is. Rural Green Bank of Caraga (Agusan del Norte province) offers an alternative quit-smoking program, a savings account. They teamed up with the non-government group Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA). A smoker, wanting to quit, opens a savings account where they deposit the money he would have spent on cigarettes for 6 months. If they are smoke-free aftter 6 months they can claim the account and are encouraged to start a small enterprise. Failure means the amount deposited goes to charity (there is a second follow up nicotine test made 3 weeks later).
* Fr. Robert Reyes, a priest whose brother Vincent died of smoking, continues his brother's P500,000 damage suit against Philip Morris and urges smokers to sue cigarette companies.
* The average smokers smokes 14 cigarettes a day.
Dance, dine and then quit smoking. Smokers first get tips to cook up tasty treats at a Preston restaurant; next they receive salsa dancing lessons; and finally, they are shown how to quit smoking by the NHS Central Lancashire Stop Smoking Service along with The Olive Press in Winckley Square, Preston, Lancashire.
* Football team Hartlepool United drafted Nicotinell for a promotional campaign to get fans trying to quit smoking to register online and complete a questionnaire. They won £20,000 for the effort.
* In the the 1990s, tobacco tax rates skyrocketed 250 percent (see above).
* In 2006, 8.4 percent of Czech 15 year olds smoked, up from 5.8 percent in 1994.
* Greece with 42 percent of responders saying they smoked daily or occasionally.
* Bularia 39 percent
* Latvia 37 percent
* France 34 percent
* England 28 percent
* Sweden 25 percent
* Slovaks at 22 percent * 5 percent of the 26,500 European polls calling themselves occasional smokers
* 10 percent of smokers claimed they had gone to another EU country to buy cheaper smokes in the past year
* Less than a third of respondents believe the smoking kills warning on cigarette packets was effective
* 20 percent of smokers said the smoking kills warnings would persuade them to cut down or quit
* 22 percent of those surveyed said they quit smoking
* 46 percent of respondents said they had never smoked
* 200,000 Swedes are no longer regular smokers in the past 5 years.
* Women smoke than men in Sweden. This is rare.
* Men who were sick or on disability were the only segment that increased smoking, up 19 percent.
* Swedes are turning to suns as a smokeless tobacco replacement for cigarettes, especially wonen.
* 14 percent.
* about 50 percent of South Korean men smoked, until 2006, when for the first time, the number of male smokers fell below 50 percent.
* The percentage of Malaysian women smokers has doubled to 480,000 in recent years, according to Health Ministry parliamentary secretary Lee Kah Choon.
* There were more than 2 million smokers overall.
* Malaysian smoking is increasing despite increasing prices and stepping up campaigns on smoking's health risks.
* 467,000 smokers were between 13 and 17 years old with almost 10 percent being girls.
* Thai smokers puff through 110 million cigarettes daily.
* 140,000 Aussie children were weekly smokers.
* 32 percent of students tried smoking in 2007 (8 percent) VS 52 percent in 2001, ccording to a Auckland University survey.
* Australian asthmatics health problems and increased risks fail to spur them to quit smoking, according to a report by the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring.
* Canada's target for smokers in the country by 2011, 12 percent of the population. That's down from the current down from 19 percent of Canadians that smoke, according to Health Minister Tony Clement.
* WOW! 58 percent of Canadian Inuits smoke on a daily basis.
Since 1999, more than 1 million Canadians have quit smoking (Canadian Cancer Society).
* Canada estimates $16 billion dollars is paid by its government each year because of smoking and tobacco, including $4.4 billion in direct health care costs. * The 22 percent rate of Quebecers who smoke has held steady for 4 years.
* More than 100,000 Ontarians have quit smoking since 2006.
* 8 percent of girl students in the Kingdom smoke.
* The Saudi Arabian government spent about SR12 billion treating smoke-related ailments between 2000 and 2004.
* Smokers in the Kingdom must now pay higher premiums for their health insurance.
* In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a state-of-the-art smoking treatment clinic is being set up in 2009.
* There are more than 50 regular anti-smoking clinics in the kingdom now.
* Purchasing, supplies and maintenance departments in the Health ministry can't do business with tobacco companies (no more contracts).
* Tobacco companies and their board members can no longer register as contractors with the Health ministry.
The Kingdom is the top Arabian tobacco importer with Iran in 2nd place, Jordan 3rd, Turkey 4th, Morocco 5th and Egypt 6th (using 2007 statistics).
* There has been a 15 percent rise in the number of smokers in Syria's smokers in spite of bans on tobacco ads and public place smoking (2006).
* Around 26 billion Syrian pounds (600 million dollars) is spent on tobacco and cigarettes by smokers each year.
* Around 8 percent of Syrian smoker's income is spent on 3.6 kilogrammes (about 8 pounds) of tobacco per smoker each year.
* 25 percent of males smoked 13 cigarettes a day on average daily.
* One in 27 females smoked 9 cigarettes daily.
* Mandatory counseling for under-aged first-time smoking offenders begins May 2009 because young adults aged 18 to 29 were the heaviest daily smokers.
* "No Butts Project" targets young adults who can redeem stamps when they attend smoking cessation events or counseling sessions.
* Singapore's Malay smokers faced the 2009 Muharam Challenge in which Malays ended the month long challenge with a 15% success rate of people quitting smoking vs. last year's 10.5 percent.
50% of Bulgarians pregnant women are active smokers.
* 38.1% of women smoke today vs. 19% in 1986.
* About 33% of kids aged 10 to 19 is an active smoker.
* 1.9 million Bulgarians smoke an average of a pack a day.
* 54.4 billion cigarettes were sold in 2008 at 5.30 euros a packet.
* 1998 cigarettes sales were almost 85 billion at 2.96 euros a packet.
* More than 164,000 people have stopped smoking since the England and Wales smoking bans started.
* Dundee, Scotland will give smokers from poor parts of the city $25 a week to buy fresh food. They must take weekly tests to prove they did not start back smoking again.
* In 2008, over 12,000 people contacted Stop Smoking Wales to help them quit smoking.
32 percent of Welsh smokers said they were smoking fewer cigarettes as a result of the ban.
Previous World No Tobacco Days
World No Tobacco Day is celebrated around the world every year on May 31.
This yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what WHO is doing to fight the tobacco epidemic, and what people around the world can do to claim their right to health and healthy living and to protect future generations.
The Member States of the World Health Organization created World No Tobacco Day in 1987 to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes. In 1987, the World Health Assemby passed Resolution WHA40.38, calling for 7 April 1988 to be a "a world no-smoking day." In 1988, Resolution WHA42.19 was passed, calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on 31 May.
- 2009 - tobacco health warnings
- 2008 - tobacco-free youth
- 2007 - smoke free inside
- 2006 - tobacco: deadly in any form or disguise
- 2005 - health professionals against tobacco
- 2004 - tobacco and poverty, a vicious circle
- 2003 - tobacco free film, tobacco free fashion
- 2002 - tobacco free sports
- 2001 - second-hand smoke kills
- 2000 - tobacco kills, don't be duped
- 1999 Leave the pack behind
- 1998 Growing up without tobacco
- 1997 United for a tobacco free world
- 1996 Sport and art without tobacco: play it tobacco free
- 1995 Tobacco costs more than you think
- 1994 Media and tobacco: get the message across
- 1993 Health services: our windos to a tobacco free world
- 1992 Tobacco free workplaces: safer and healthier
- 1991 Public places and transport: better be tobacco free
- 1990 Childhood and youth without tobacco: growing up without tobacco