The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to crack down on all types of international advertising and promotions of tobacco products, as well as sales of tobacco products in duty-free shops, airports, embassies and military bases, said the Thai newspaper The Nation on Saturday.
Hathai Chitanon, president of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, said WHO representatives had recently talked with six countries that are leading the campaign against cigarette smoking through a video-conference to draft a framework convention on tobacco control.
The six countries are Thailand, France, Canada, New Zealand, Egypt and Zimbabwe.
The framework convention will be ratified by WHO member countries in 2004, said the newspaper.
The convention will ban the advertising of tobacco products through satellite and the internet.
Tobacco companies will also be banned from sponsoring sporting and cultural programs, especially Formula One car racing.
"Children love these television programs and tobacco-producing companies use these sport programs to disseminate the image of cigarettes through sportsmen," Hathai said.
The convention will also crack down on cigarette smuggling, as studies show that one-third of all tobacco products consumed are smuggled.
Every country producing tobacco products must report on its production and sales, including how much it produces and where it exports the products.
WHO member countries must also scrap sales of tobacco products in duty-free shops and airports as well as at military bases and embassies around the world.
Hathai said large producers of tobacco products in the United States, Zimbabwe and Singapore had tried to delay the ratification of the plan - Albawaba.com
