Protect youth by banning smoking, vaping in schools: WHO

9 out of 10 smokers start before age 18 as products have been made more affordable, warns U.N. agency

GENEVA (AA) – The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday called on states to ban smoking and vaping in schools to protect youth.

The tobacco industry “relentlessly” targets young people, as nine out of 10 smokers start before the age of 18, as highlighted in a new guide and toolkit to help protect children’s health for back-to-school season in many countries, WHO said in a press release.

“Products have also been made more affordable for young people through the sale of single-use cigarettes and e-cigarettes, which typically lack health warnings,” the UN agency warned.

“Whether sitting in class, playing games outside or waiting at the school bus stop, we must protect young people from deadly second-hand smoke and toxic e-cigarette emissions as well as ads promoting these products,” said Ruediger Krech, WHO’s director of health promotion.

The new guide and toolkit are manuals for schools to make their campuses free of nicotine and tobacco. They provide step-by-step instructions on how to achieve this goal, using a “whole of school” approach that involves teachers, staff, students, parents, and others.

Besides banning nicotine and tobacco on school grounds, the guide stressed three more ways to create a healthy environment for young people: prohibiting the sale of nicotine and tobacco products near schools, banning direct and indirect ads and promotion of nicotine and tobacco products near schools, and refusing sponsorship or engagement with the tobacco and nicotine industries.

On which countries have successfully implemented policies to support tobacco and nicotine-free campuses, the WHO said they include India, Indonesia, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Ukraine.