JUNE 3, 1996

World Health Authority attacks motor racing

THE World Health Authority had launched an attack on motor racing which it claims is a "non-stop commercial" for cigarettes with races being "venues for the recruitment of new smokers".

The WHO - which organized "World No-Tobacco Day" on Friday last week - called for a worldwide ban on "broadcasts of tobacco advertising masquerading as sports sponsorship."

The WHO says that the annual death toll from smoking-related diseases will rise to 10 million as smoking expands into the Third World. The annual death toll is expected to rise from 3 million today to 10 million by the end of the century.

The WHO praised the Olympic movement for its policy of not allowing tobacco advertising and sponsorship, and banning smoking in stadiums.

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