They are a smart, adaptive enemy, ready to exploit any weaknesses anywhere on Earth. Tobacco companies are refining their strategies for the 21st century, an era in which the World Health Organization says their products conceivably could kill 1 billion people.
Of necessity, WHO, too, is marshaling international efforts to protect people in the poorer and emerging markets where the tobacco corporations see opportunities. The international health agency said it will help countries around the world implement a package of measures that include warning the public of tobacco's dangers, controlling advertising and helping people quit smoking.
A WHO report Thursday said only 5 percent of the world's population lives in countries with comprehensive anti-smoking measures. Only 15 countries even mandate U.S.-style warning labels.
The WHO has an excellent idea for raising money for better programs: tobacco taxes. As The Wall Street Journal reported, tobacco revenues run 9,000 times greater than taxes in poor lands.
The Journal also recently reported on how Philip Morris International plans to blitz wider parts of the world with new products. That could help respond to the declining cigarette consumption in this country and Europe -- public health and consumer education efforts be praised. PMI is spinning off from its U.S. parent, Altria Group Inc. Imagine the regulatory and legal benefits.
Here's the good news, though: If smoking can be reduced here, it can be cut anywhere. But the world must be smart, nimble and determined.
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