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| Words in the News
Wednesday 20 March 2002
Vocabulary from the news. Listen to and read the report then find explanations of difficult words below.
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WHO in fight against smoking
Summary: In a new report the World Health Organisation says it will offer support for legal action against tobacco companies. This report from Emma Jane Kirby.
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| | The News | |
| | | The World Health Organisation estimates that four million people die from smoking-related illnesses every year and over the past two years it's been working on establishing an international health treaty which could curb tobacco advertising and marketing.
The WHO now suggests litigation is also a valuable tool with which to control smoking and in a new report outlining various countries' experience with legal action for harm caused by smoking, the organisation says it's ready to offer support for any further actions and would consider the possibility of international litigation against tobacco companies.
While the WHO said that court action needed to be handled cautiously, it added that used with discipline, 'litigation could awaken public outrage, and advance both justice and health'. The WHO hopes the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control will be ready by May 2003, but not all countries are agreed on how far the treaty should go. Most African and Asian nations have pushed for a tough treaty with a total ban on sponsorship and marketing. But countries like the US and Japan, which have large stakes in the tobacco industry, are reluctant to agree to such terms. The 191 members of the WHO will continue debating the issues at their Geneva headquarters until the end of this week.
Emma Jane Kirby, BBC, Geneva
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| | The Words
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| | | smoking-related illnesses
diseases which have been caught because of smoking
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| | | curb
limit
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| | | litigation
legal process
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| | | actions
here, legal action or court case
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| | | outrage
anger or shock
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| | | how far the treaty should go
how strict the treaty should be
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| | | Framework Convention
a formal agreement to change the structure
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| | | stakes
interests
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| | | terms
conditions
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| | | debating
discussing
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