May 31st, is World No Tobacco Day.

World No Tobacco Day brings attention to a noble goal, that of reducing tobacco consumption, but embraces the wrong approach needed for consumers and everyday working people.

“The World Health Organization and hundreds of national governments have approached tobacco as a problem to legislate, regulate, and tax away. Branding bands and plain packaging enforced in places such as Australia and France have not proved effective and have used the wrong approach to encourage citizens to cut down on smoking.

“Rather than using resources to promote World No Tobacco Day and try to consolidate global legislation on tobacco, the World Health Organization should focus on harm reduction promoted through the market, which has proven effective in weaning people off tobacco and is scientifically proven to be 95 less harmful than cigarettes.”

“Clearly, the WHO’s approach isn’t working. What is needed is more market alternatives and more consumer choice. We hope national governments will take that message to heart on World No Tobacco Day.”

– Yaël Ossowski, Public Relations Director, Consumer Choice Center.