The World Health Organisation has called on member nations in the Southeast Asia region to recognize that alcohol and tobacco in any form, whether legal or illicit, are harmful to health. It stressed that decisive actions must be taken to stop the illicit trade in tobacco products and to track down and eradicate unreported alcohol consumption.

As of now, the WHO South-East Asia Region, India, and Sri Lanka are parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. Regional Director Saima Wazed urged in her opening remarks yesterday at a regional workshop in Bangkok to address the challenges of illicit tobacco trade and unrecorded alcohol. She said that as a first step, all remaining Member States should become Parties to the WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. Ms. Wazed further called on member countries to devote optimal resources to developing, implementing, and sustaining effective track-and-trace mechanisms for tobacco products.

According to the WHO release, over 20 distinct types of cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders, as well as numerous other crippling medical conditions, are all significantly increased by tobacco use. The release mentioned that an estimated 25 percent of global alcohol consumption is unrecorded. Overindulgence in alcohol has a number of detrimental effects on health. It increases the chance of developing mental illnesses, both contagious and non-contagious diseases, early mortality, accidents, and domestic abuse.