More than 250 organisations and alliances in support of the campaign

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FIFA, Germany in extra time over smoking, warns UICC Global Smokefree Partnership

The UICC Global Smokefree Partnership is warning football’s governing body FIFA and the German national organising committee that time is running out to declare the Football World Cup 2006 smokefree.

Geneva, Switzerland, 26 May 2006 - In advance of World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, the UICC Global Smokefree Partnership is warning football’s governing body FIFA and the German national organising committee that time is running out to declare the Football World Cup 2006 smokefree.

The warning comes less than two weeks before the competition kicks off on 9 June and as pressure on the German hosts to protect spectators from second-hand smoke mounts.

“In the 2002 World Cup, a agreement between FIFA and WHO seemed to blow the final whistle for smoking in World Cup stadia. The World Cup has been years in the planning. Yet with just two weeks to go until World Cup 2006 kicks off, FIFA and the national organisers look set to run into extra time on smoking,” says Isabel Mortara, UICC’s executive director.

The slogan for World No Tobacco Day 2006, “tobacco is deadly in any form or disguise”, is true for passive smoking, adds Sinéad Jones, director of the UICC Global Smokefree Partnership.

“Just as smoking kills, passive smoking kills,” she says. “Only clear rules, meaningfully enforced, can protect the public from the health hazards of second-hand smoke.”

“The eyes of the world are on us: fans everywhere are waiting for Germany to respond. The organisers need to announce exactly how they intend to protect fans from second-hand smoke and protect the image of world football,” says Annette Bornhäuser, campaign coordinator.

The campaign to make the World Cup smokefree has the backing of leading sports figures, including the footballers Ebbe Sand and Gerald Asamoah and the former Alpine ski champion Irene Epple-Waigel. It is supported by more than 250 organisations in 60 countries.

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The UICC Global Smokefree Partnership is a new multipartner initiative promoting effective smokefree policies worldwide. Partners include the American Cancer Society, Americans for Nonsmokers Rights, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Cancer Research UK, European Respiratory Society, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Institute for Global Tobacco Control, French National Cancer Institute (INCa), Framework Convention Alliance, Global Tobacco Research Network, International Nongovernmental Coalition Against Tobacco, International Union Against Cancer. The Partnership receives financial support from its members and from other sources. The partnership is coordinated by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC).
For more information, contact Sinéad Jones (info@globalsmokefreepartnership.org)