London, May 30: The United Nations has warned against the use of tobacco among women and calls for global action against it as 1.5 million women die each year from its usage.
UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon said in a message to the World No Tobacco Day, May 31, that, “Around the world, more than 1.5 million women die each year from tobacco use,” UN Information Center in the Iranian capital, Tehran, reported.
A recent survey in 151 countries, showed use of tobacco products is about equal among boys and girls, said the World Health Organization.
The study revealed that nearly two thirds of a total 600,000 people who die from second-hand smoke, are women.
The UN secretary general asked governments to protect women from tobacco advertising that aggressively market products to girls and women.
The WHO has also cautioned against the growing number of tobacco users among women especially in the developing countries.
——Agencies