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| | Smokers, you are out of luck if you are seeking a job in the United Nations World Health Organisation. The health agency has just decided to stop hiring smokers. The justification: how can it ask the member states to respect the international Anti-Tobacco Treaty unless it itself applies those standards to its own employees. But it would not take any action against its current employees who smoke except to encourage them to stop smoking. However, there is a loophole in the new policy: WHO would only ask those seeking employment whether they smoke but would investigate them after they get the job. It is not clear what action would it take should it discover that an applicant had lied on the application. The agency says that tobacco use currently causes five million preventable deaths and costs $200 billion per year in treatment of smokers and lost productivity. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) requires parties to restrict tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, set new labelling and indoor air standards, and to strengthen laws against tobacco smuggling. |
