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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

National tobacco control strategy announced

Belgrade, 31 May 2005

Serbian Deputy Minister of Health Snezana Simic announced today that a national tobacco control strategy along with an action plan should be adopted by the end of the year, with the aim of protecting future generations from the consequences of this hazardous habit.

Author: Fonet

Simic told a panel on the occasion of the World No Smoking Day, which is marked on May 31, that the strategy is based on the Framework Convention for Controlling Tobacco created by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The strategy focuses on measures referring to the price of tobacco, ban on advertising, promoting and sponsoring tobacco as well as the ban on selling tobacco to underage persons.

She recalled that the Convention came into force in February and that it is the first publicised health agreement in the world aimed at reducing the number of smoking related deaths.

Simic said that the Ministry of Health plans to form a council for controlling tobacco, which will be set up by the ministers of health, education and sport, agriculture, trade and culture.

Coordinator of the National Commission for Prevention of Smoking Natasa Lazarevic-Petrovic said that the first step to introducing some measures planned by the WTO’s convention is to create a code of conduct in health centres so that health workers can influence others by telling them about the hazardous effects of smoking and in turn helping them to quit smoking.