Smoking gets own 'Kyoto treaty'

Smoking gets own 'Kyoto treaty' **

A look at the likely impact of the World Health Organisation's global anti-smoking pact.

URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4295845.stm

Way to go, W.H.O! For those of us that are allergic to nicotine, this sounds like music to our ears. My mother works for WHO (Resident Representative for WHO in Cameroon), and she has been fighting against tobacco for as long as I can remember, for 2 reasons: One, she is a doctor, and she understands the harnful effects not only for the individuals - first or second hand smokers - but also for the society (what with 5 million of preventable deaths a year, give or take). Two, it is from here that I inherited the allergy I have. It is a big victory for human health rights. Now, is it going to be implemented well? Well... we'll see. I know that here in Columbus, a smoking ban was passed for public places, but bar owners are trying to get the courts to make an exception for them. But then again the US did not even ratify the WHO treaty. Maybe the countries that actually did will behave better. I wonder...

Politics