We have gathered here today to celebrate life. Those of us who have traveled some distance down life’s course know that it affords moments of strife and struggle, but also of satisfaction and happiness.

Today is one of those moments. I am honoured to be part of the celebrations in a country where better health is a key element of government policy. Thank you for inviting me to share it with you.

Here at Sanam Luang, we are at the center of Thailand’s proud history. Here, and in the streets around us, Thais have defended democracy. Thailand is a proud and courageous country. Its fight against tyranny and foreign domination is an inspiration to all.

This is also true when it comes to the fight against tobacco. Thailand has a special place in this global struggle.

Ten years ago, Thailand responded forcefully against the demands of an aggressive tobacco industry seeking new markets and new victims.

When you faced punitive trade sanctions, you set up the National Committee for the Control of Tobacco Use. You launched a national signature campaign that mobilized civil society and health advocates across the country. You increased taxes, imposed advertising bans and wrote laws to protect non-smokers and children. You have done all a country can do to protect its population against the onslaught of tobacco.

You have shown the world that where there is political will, there is a way forward for public health.

The results are inspiring. Smoking among women and youth is down and smoking prevalence dropped more than 3% from 1996 to a level of 20% in 1998. That means one million fewer smokers and thousands of lives saved. Clean indoor air may not yet be a reality, but it has now entered the debate.

Despite your success, Thailand knows better than anyone else that the fight against tobacco never ends. Once they are in, the multinational tobacco companies work ceaselessly to promote their products and to block or subvert attempts at reducing tobacco consumption.

Other countries in the forefront of the struggle – Canada, Norway, South Africa, the United States, Finland, to name a few – tell us the same thing. The battle against big tobacco is never over. Just when smoking rates seem to come under control, aggressive marketing tactics aimed at women and adolescents are launched.

The tobacco industry has long ago realized that they cannot sell their product on its own merits. After all, a cigarette is the only freely available consumer product which kills through normal use. So the industry has studied our central nervous system to determine the right dose of nicotine to deliver addiction. And to attract new smokers, the companies sell tobacco as a lifestyle. Youth, wild nature, sports, fresh air – it is all used to camouflage tobacco’s deadly effects.

Tobacco is advertised in sports events, in discos, at pop concerts. When direct advertising is banned, they use other ways to promote tobacco and make their brands visible. They sell adventure clothes and sports goods. They sponsor arts festivals. They make sure film stars smoke on-screen.

Tobacco is a communicated disease – communicated through marketing. That is why we chose to focus this year’s World No Tobacco Day on entertainment. We want the world to know how tobacco products are directly and indirectly marketed through films, music and sports.

The tobacco industry looks for 11,000 new smokers every day to replace those who die from tobacco. And they succeed. Every day, between 82,000 and 99,000 teenagers - even children – start smoking or chewing tobacco.

Adults can choose for themselves, at least if they have full access to information. Children and adolescents cannot. Over eighty percent of smokers in many countries started before they were 18. By the time they find out nicotine is addictive, it is too late.

On this day, as countries around the world celebrate World No Tobacco Day, what better place than Thailand to say, "Tobacco Kills – Don’t be Duped."

Friends,

We know that the tobacco industry is a global force. We know that national successes such as the Thai experience can be undone if they are not globally underpinned. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is just the kind of support countries need in their fight against a global menace.

Thailand is one of a few countries that early on understood the tobacco problem in all its dimensions – from the death and disease burden to economics, trade and public policy. I hope and trust that Thailand will play an important role in helping us craft the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Over the next few years, WHO will lead the negotiations towards a convention that is strong, and effective, and that achieves our goal: to limit the global reach of tobacco.

To succeed, we need the input of ministries of agriculture, trade, education, finance and social affairs. A truly viable public health tool has to be reflected in all those areas of governance and public policy that have a direct bearing on people’s health. That search for health is also a search for justice, equity and solidarity.

Many say: "why tobacco?" Why waste time on this while the poor die from malaria, tuberculosis or HIV/AIDS?

The answer is simple: Tobacco kills one person every eight seconds.

That is four million deaths per year. Unless we act, that figure will rise to 10 million deaths a year by 2030. Seventy percent of these deaths will occur in the developing world. Unless we act, tobacco will kill more people than malaria, tuberculosis and maternal and childhood conditions combined.

And remember: every tobacco-related death is preventable. That is our message. That is our challenge. We can save millions of lives.

I am delighted that children in Thailand will launch a global signature campaign urging decision-makers to put in place effective and verifiable global bans on tobacco advertising.

This children’s campaign launched from Thailand comes at a time when countries will be starting the difficult negotiations of the Framework Convention against strong forces and enormous commercial interest. We need your inspiration. We need your support.

Together, we will create a better world for our children.