Brazzaville, 2 October 2007 -- A four-day workshop on the Global Youth Tobacco Survey organized by WHO and CDC/Atlanta opened Tuesday in Brazzaville with  a warning by WHO that tobacco use and addiction constituted major impediments to development in poor countries.

In a message to the workshop, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, said: “Tobacco use and addiction seriously threatens sustainable development by causing disability, premature deaths, economic loss at national and individual level as well as damage to the environment.

“There are more than one billion smokers in the world. If the trend continues, deaths due to tobacco addiction will increase from 5 million to 10   million   by 2020, 70% of these in developing countries.”

Dr Sambo regretted the lack of information and data for advocacy for tobacco control in the Region. He said tobacco use was increasing among young people who, not being aware of the danger of tobacco consumption,   underestimate the risks of dependency on nicotine.

Dr Sambo, whose message was read on his behalf by the Director of the Division of Family and Reproductive Health, Dr Tigest Ketsela, encouraged countries to introduce measures to control tobacco at all levels of the health system using an integrated and multisectoral approach. He also urged countries to ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

The objective of the workshop is to strengthen the capacity of countries in the planning, implementation and the finalization of the Global Survey on Tobacco among young people aged between 13 and 15 years.

The survey evaluates attitudes, knowledge and behaviour related to the use of tobacco and exposure to smoke. The process is based on the collection of information on sources of tobacco supply, tobacco use and the effectiveness of measures to prevent addiction.

The workshop is being attended by participants from Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.

For more information contact:

Technical Contact:

Jean-Pierre Baptiste  (+47241) 39310  baptistej [at] afro.who.int (baptistej[at]afro[dot]who[dot]int)

Media Contact:

Flavienne Issembè (+47241) 39352  issembef [at] afro.who.int (issembef[at]afro[dot]who[dot]int)