“ There ’ s a muchneeded sense of urgency in tackling this huge death toll and the WHO has to be at the forefront of these next steps .
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The World Health Organization should be ‘ embarrassed ’ after a former WHO director accused the body of ‘ losing its way ’ in tobacco control .
Speaking at an international harm reduction summit , a former director of Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion for the WHO , slammed the group ’ s ‘ shameful ’ anti-vaping attitude . Professor Robert Beaglehole , who worked alongside the health body for almost five decades , warned that the WHO needs to ‘ lead ’ and ‘ not obstruct ’ harm reduction strategies .
And with tobacco killing more than eight million people every year , he said it ’ s high-time the World Health Organization ‘ actively promoted reduced risk products ’. Beaglehole said : “ There ’ s a much-needed sense of urgency in tackling this huge death toll and the WHO has to be at the forefront of these next steps .”
The longstanding public health expert stressed that the WHO has allowed funding from ‘ vested interests ’ to muddy its approach to harm reduction .
He highlighted that the infamously antivaping Bloomberg Philanthropies alone has supported the health group ’ s tobacco control efforts ‘ to the tune of at least $ 1 billion ’. Beaglehole said : “ Regrettably , this source of funding has been detrimental to the WHO , because of Bloomberg ’ s personal prohibitionist approach to less harmful , effective alternatives .
“ The missing ingredient is harm reduction … but , under pressure from Bloomberg , the WHO has actively discouraged the use of less harmful products … madness you might say .”
The Action for Smokefree Aotearoa ( ASH ) Chair , also outlined a desire for nicotine abstinence , a refusal to embrace less harmful products and an undue focus on youth use as reasons why the WHO ’ s tobacco control policies have failed .
He called for an independent enquiry into the World Health Organization ’ s tobacco control leadership , as well as a ‘ relentless ’ and ‘ urgent ’ focus on reducing deaths in adult smokers . Beaglehole said : “ We clearly require a coordinated global response , so no country , no population , is left behind . “ The WHO needs our support in coming back to an evidence-based organisation that promotes ALL the relevant strategies for reducing this health burden .”
He added : “ I would ask my WHO colleagues and harm reduction denialists ‘ what if you ’ re wrong ?’ “ The cost will be huge and measured in millions of preventable deaths … this seems to me a totally unnecessary and unacceptable risk to take .”
Harm reduction advocates have since called for Beaglehole ’ s recommendations to be ‘ taken seriously ’, saying that his harsh critique has left a ‘ significant dent ’ in the WHO ’ s authority .
Martin Cullip of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance ’ s Consumer Center said : “ Such criticism from a former director should be deeply embarrassing to the WHO . “ Surely it cannot continue to tread a nicotine-prohibitionist path forever while people die unnecessarily and the scientific evidence in favour of harm reduction continues to grow ?”
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