The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday called on countries to ban smoking and vaping in schools to protect young people.
The tobacco industry is "relentlessly" targeting young people, with nine out of 10 smokers starting before the age of 18, a new guide and toolkit to help protect children's health for back-to-school in several countries has highlighted. WHO said in a press release.
"The products have also become more accessible to young people through the sale of disposable cigarettes and e-cigarettes, which typically do not carry health warnings," the UN agency warned.
"Whether they're sitting in a classroom, playing games outside or waiting at the school bus stop, we need to protect young people from the deadly second-hand smoke and toxic emissions of e-cigarettes, as well as from advertisements promoting these products," said Ruediger Krech, director of health promotion of the WHO.
The new guide and toolkit are handbooks for schools to make their campuses nicotine and smoke free. They provide step-by-step instructions on how to achieve this goal, using a "whole school" approach that includes teachers, staff, students, parents and others.
In addition to banning nicotine and tobacco in schools, the guide highlighted three more ways to create a healthy environment for young people: ban the sale of nicotine and tobacco products near schools, ban direct and indirect advertising, and promote nicotine and tobacco products near in schools and refusing to sponsor or engage with the tobacco and nicotine industries.
Some countries that have successfully implemented policies to support tobacco- and nicotine-free campuses, the WHO said, include India, Indonesia, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine.