World | UK
Smoking ban a boon for public health, World Health Organisation says
Smoking bans are an effective way of preventing heart disease, getting cigarette users to quit and protecting children from second-hand smoke, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report issued on Sunday said.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:41 June 29, 2008
London: Smoking bans are an effective way of preventing heart disease, getting cigarette users to quit and protecting children from second-hand smoke, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report issued on Sunday said.
The report by scientists at the WHO's International Agency for Cancer Research urged more countries to adopt smoking bans in public and at the workplace, saying there was enough evidence to prove they work, without hurting businesses such as restaurants and bars.
"Implementation of such policies can have a broader population effect of increasing smoke-free environments," the researchers wrote in the Lancet Oncology special report.
"Not only do these policies achieve their aim of protecting the health of non-smokers by decreasing exposure to second-hand smoke, they also have many effects on smoking behaviour, which compound the health benefits."
Many local and national governments have enacted varying types of smoking bans in recent years to protect people from second-hand smoke.
Share this article
UK
Afghanistan commander calls for staying the course
Sexual assaults on children soars
Tough love moulds young minds best
Wanted man sends in replacement photo
Two British ticketholders share £90m jackpot
Mum dies trying to save son from blaze
Meeting the Queen with pen tucked behind ear!
Brown under fire over Afghanistan policies
More from World
News Editor's choice
-
Daughters: Book on Sadat 'one-sided'
Pictorial collection excludes children from first wife
-
Over 6,000 Haj pilgrims to get vaccines
H1N1 and meningitis jabs compulsory for those going to Makkah in Saudi Arabia
-
Abu Dhabi residential city on track
Abu Dhabi Municipality says Dh651m infrastructure project to be completed
