[The requisite internationalization of the campaign against smoking].
One smoker out of two dies from smoking. Fifty five percent of the French population smoke at age 18. To decrease the tobacco consumption is thus a paramount public health objective. Following WHO and "Europe Against Cancer", a comprehensive program against smoking should ban advertising, increase prices, protect non-smokers, educate children, promote non-smoking behaviors and help smokers who want to stop. The measures taken in France, following the law of January 10th, 1991, made possible a 11.1% decrease of tobacco consumption and a 14.5% decrease of cigarette consumption. If France is exemplary for the ban of tobacco advertising, the means devoted to education and information are poor, the weakest in Europe. So, it is still possible to speed up the decrease of tobacco consumption in France so that the estimate of 165,000 deaths related to tobacco consumption in 2025 will not occur. This success has to be interpreted within a European and Worldwide context. The tobacco industry is responsible for denying the danger of tobacco, the addictive effect and nicotine and for targeting children and adolescents. Faced to the forecast of 100 million deaths within twenty years, only an international solution can be of the right size. WHO should be given this responsibility.
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Service d'Evaluation Médicale--C.H.U Nord, Amiens.
D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D011634:Public Health; D012907:Smoking / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D019460:Tobacco Industry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*