UNITED NATIONS (IPS) — This year, tobacco use will kill nearly six million people. Of that number, 600,000 will die because of exposure to second- hand tobacco smoke.

If current trends continue, the annual death toll could rise to eight million by 2030, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO), with more than 80 percent of the deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries 

“We have the means to prevent this needless tragedy. Political will is the key,” Timothy O’Leary, WHO communications officer, told IPS. 

Last week, the WHO launched its third periodic report on the effects of tobacco, with a focus on the proliferation of smoking bans in work places, restaurants, bars and other indoor public places. It notes while that 154 million more people are no longer exposed to the harms of tobacco smoke in these venues, that figure represents just 5.4 percent of the world’s population. 

“Although this represents progress, the fact that more than 94 percent of people remain unprotected by comprehensive smoke-free laws shows that much more work needs to be done,” said WHO Assistant Director- General for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health Dr Ala Alwan. 

“Urgent action is needed to protect people from the death and illness caused by exposure to tobacco smoke,” he said in a statement. 

In 2005, countries came together to pass the world’s first global public health treaty – the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), also the first international treaty negotiated under the auspices of the WHO. 

More than 170 countries and the European Union are now parties to the FCTC. 

“This treaty sets out specific steps for governments addressing tobacco use. These steps are good starting points for any government wanting to raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco use,” Francis Thompson, director of policy and advocacy at the Framework Convention Alliance, an NGO that supports the treaty, told IPS. 

To enable countries to fulfill their FCTC obligations, in 2008 WHO introduced MPOWER, a package of six evidence-based tobacco control measures that are proven to reduce tobacco use. 

The report studies in detail the importance of warning about the dangers of tobacco, one of the most important MPOWER measures. 

It uses two primary strategies: the inclusion of warning labels on cigarette packaging and anti-tobacco mass media campaigns. 

A billion people in 19 countries now see warning labels on tobacco products, nearly double the number of two years ago, when only about 547 million people were covered in 16 countries. 

At the same time, nearly two billion people – 28 percent of the world’s population – live in the 23 countries that run at least one strong anti-tobacco mass media campaign. Of these 23 countries, only seven are classified as high-income. 

Under the premise that many people are still unaware of the consequences of tobacco, health warning labels have become increasingly aggressive over the years. 

“About three in 10 former smokers reported that the labels had motivated them to quit and more than a quarter said that labels helped them remain abstinent,” the report said. 

As Thompson told IPS, “Graphic warnings on packages can provide extra motivation for someone who is close to quitting, provided the fact that, at least in the countries where this has been studied, the overwhelming majority of smokers regret having started to smoke in the first place.” 

The report also states that thanks to warning labels and the raised awareness they bring, other measures – like the establishment of smoke-free environments – tend to be more easily accepted by the public. 

As for the anti-tobacco mass media campaigns, advertisements that show graphic videos or images of sick people suffering or dying are, according to the report, one of the most efficient ways to make smokers want to quit. 

Following an anti-tobacco advertising campaign carried out by New York City’s municipal tobacco control program, telephone calls from people who wanted assistance and advice on quitting quadrupled. 

However, these two strategies – anti-tobacco mass media campaigns and health warning labels – would be impossible to keep track on if it was not for another of the six evidence-based measures: monitoring. 

“Monitoring of tobacco use and tobacco control policy achievements is critical to understanding and reversing the epidemic and ensuring success of the other five MPOWER measures,” the report says. 

Good monitoring systems – surveys on tobacco use and tobacco control policy implementation, among others – are practiced in 59 countries with a collective population of 3.2 billion people, half of the world’s population. 

The report was released two months before the U.N. Summit on Non- Communicable Diseases (NCDs), the aim of which is to agree on a global strategy to address NCDs. 

NCDs include cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes – all diseases in which tobacco use can play a significant role. 

The Framework Convention Alliance is also advocating for reduced tobacco use to be at the heart of the global health and development agenda. 

“That includes making accelerated FCTC implementation a priority of the upcoming U.N. High-Level meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases in September,” Thompson told IPS.