Gummy Bear & Cotton Candy Flavor: WHO Tobacco Report Recommends Ban on Flavored Products

These would target young people with flavors like gummy bears or cotton candy. According to the WHO, 42 countries with a combined population of 2.7 billion have banned the sale of e-cigarettes and similar devices. Experts accuse the industry of using flavored products to lure young people, make them addicted, and turn them into long-term customers.

Tax Increase as the Most Effective Measure Against Smoking

Globally, there are 1.3 billion tobacco users, and an estimated eight million people die each year from consumption. According to WHO recommendations, the tax should account for at least 75 percent of the price of tobacco products. This is the most effective measure to reduce consumption. Around 40 countries worldwide currently exceed 75 percent, according to the "Global Tobacco Epidemic Report" presented on Tuesday.

In the WHO European Region with 53 countries, Germany (64.1 percent) is in the lower quarter with its taxes, as are Norway and Switzerland. At the time these data were compiled, Austria had a percentage of 73.3 percent.

Austria is thus among 19 countries - eleven with high income, eight with middle income - that are "within five percentage points of the best-practice level" and have a total tax share between 70 and 75 percent of the retail price, according to the WHO. "If these countries increased their tax share to 75 percent, an additional 345 million people would be covered by the most effective measure to reduce tobacco consumption."

WHO: 1.3 Million People Die Worldwide from Passive Smoking

1.3 million people die worldwide from passive smoking, which is why it is so important to create more completely smoke-free spaces, experts noted. Only four countries have implemented all the measures recommended by the WHO: Brazil, Mauritius, the Netherlands, and Turkey. With the exception of Turkey, the number of adults who smoke daily is lower in these countries than in Austria or Germany, according to WHO data: Here, it is 16 percent, in the Netherlands and Mauritius 13 percent, and in Brazil nine percent. In Turkey, the daily smoking prevalence is still 26 percent.

(APA/Red.)

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