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http://www.globalsmokefreepartnership.org/news.php?id=188
Joint
Statement by the
International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and the World Tourism Organization
(WTO) on
GLOBAL SMOKEFREE HOSPITALITY IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM
Presented at //// on May 2007
UICC and WTO are sensitive to the formally expressed wishes of our respective membership to promote the highest standard of health and protect the right to a healthy environment in Travel and Tourism.
Our organizations take particular account of the 2003 World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control ratified to date by 146 countries (1) (add reference).
More specifically, Article 8 (Protection from exposure to tobacco smoke) obligates Parties to take effective steps to provide protection from exposure to tobacco smoke.
This duty stems from the scientific evidence confirming that exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke leads to premature death and disease, including lung cancer and ischemic heart disease as showed most recently in the 2006 US Surgeon General Report (2),
(2 - IARC and 3 Surgeon General and 4 California ?)
Several EU countries have started enacting and implementing smokefree regulations, the EU Commission is recommanding a general adoption and it looks like more and more Europeans prefer smoke-free hotels. (New York Times, Nov 5 2006)
Other continents have taken similar initiatives: in the United States 17 states and dozens of municipalities have smokefree regulations, (Canada?), XXX complete with as many countries as possible
Those policies have already improved public health. Studies in Ireland, scotland, Norway, the US, demonstrate benefits such as improvements in the respiratory health of hospitality workers (sources?)
It is of particular importance for tourism that there is wide popular support for smokefree regulations because clean air environments are viewed as those most conducive to leisure-time enjoyment (source? from NEJ 2007)
It is to answer consumer demand that several hotel chains have decide to become smokefree in the US and Canada (sources for Westin and Marriott).
1. World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
2. The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke: a report of the Surgeon General - executive summary. Rockville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services, 2006.
3. Study Finds That Europeans Prefer Smoke-Free Hotels, The New York Times, November 5, 2006
WTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (Santiago, Chile 1999) which clearly states that "the exploitation of human beings in any form, particularly sexual, especially when applied to children, conflicts with the fundamental aims of tourism and is the negation of tourism".
We also recall the IATA AGM Final Resolution Condemning Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (1996) and the WTO Statement on the Prevention of Organized Sex Tourism (1995).
It is absolutely clear from the above policy declarations that the leaders of our respective constituencies are convinced that the well being of children has to be respected and protected everywhere.
We take the opportunity of this Second World Congress Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (Yokohama) to urge those in positions of power and authority to take specific measures to counter sexual exploitation of children, by adapting their legislation to criminalize child sex abuse and introducing extraterritorial prosecution, in particular through the reinforcement of judicial cooperation between States and the designation of national focal points.
We, for our part, will continue to encourage airlines and other international travel organizations, including airport authorities, to multiply their awareness-raising efforts towards passengers, especially by means of articles in in-flight magazines and by screening in-flight video clips or other spots in airport passenger lounges, departure gates and on airport buses.
We and our respective organizations favour actions by the tourism industry, in particular the adoption of self-regulatory measures, such as codes of conduct and good practices, to complement existing legislation, as well as the education and training of staff at home and at tourism destinations.
Our two organizations will continue to work for closer public-private tourism-sector partnerships at national, regional and international levels to jointly combat sexual offences on minors in travel and tourism networks and call upon all tourism stakeholders to effectively support the international campaign for the protection of children from sexual exploitation in tourism.
It is our sincere hope that by our actions, we shall help those engaged in carrying out the measures needed to advance the above policies and that we shall encourage others to add their strength to this alliance.
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