10 Tobacco use is the major preventable cause of death in the world, killing nearly 5 million people annually. Tobacco use is addictive. There is no safe way of using tobacco, and no safe threshold levels have been established. WHO is at the forefront of the global campaign to curb the tobacco epidemic, led by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The Organization has a responsibility to ensure that this is reflected in all its work, including recruitment practices. The policy of not recruiting smokers or other tobacco users is a practical demonstration of the Organization's commitment to "de-normalizing" tobacco use and promoting global tobacco control.
20 For the purposes of WHO's Smoking Policy, a smoker is someone who smokes any tobacco product, either daily or occasionally.
- A daily smoker is someone who smokes any tobacco product at least once a day.
- An occasional smoker is someone who smokes, but not every day.
- A tobacco user is someone who uses tobacco products.
- "Tobacco products means products entirely or partly made of the leaf tobacco as raw material which are manufactured to be used for smoking, sucking, chewing or snuffing". (WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Article 1)
30 Vacancy Notices now include the statement "WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or other tobacco users".
40 Applicants are asked if they are smokers or tobacco users, and if so, would they continue to smoke or use tobacco if they were employed by WHO.
50 The policy states that smokers and other tobacco users will not be recruited by WHO. Since serving staff have already been recruited, the policy will not affect them. However, subject to the transitional measures described below, if a currently serving staff member were to leave WHO and later seek to return to work for WHO, the policy would apply.
60 There is no penalization of serving staff who use tobacco, except in the case of smoking inside WHO premises. Transition arrangements with designated outdoor areas where smoking is tolerated will remain in place until further notice. There is no intention to end or shorten the contracts of serving WHO staff in relation to their use of tobacco.
70 WHO encourages its staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle and strives to provide an enabling work environment.
80 WHO encourages staff who smoke or use tobacco to quit. Several measures are in place to assist staff members to stop using tobacco. WHO's Health and Medical Services (HMS), Geneva, provide support for cessation of tobacco use in the form of individual counselling, prescriptions for pharmaceutical therapy (including nicotine replacement products) and follow-up. In-house sessions for groups within WHO can be organized.
90 HMS also has an established cooperation with facilities offering specialized services, including CIPRET (Centre d'Information pour la Pr vention du Tabagisme) and the H pital Cantonal.
100 Pharmaceutical therapy (including nicotine replacement products) bought on a treating physician or on the Headquarters or Regional Office staff physician prescriptions are reimbursed by the WHO Staff Health Insurance at 80%.
110 WHO Intranet users can find more information under http://intranet.who.int/homes/shw/healthyliving/quitsmoking/.
