The World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, today announced the attribution of the Director-General's Prize for outstanding global contribution to tobacco control to Hubert H. Humphrey III, of the United States of America.

The yearly prize was awarded to Mr Humphrey for his key role in gaining public access to millions of papers in which the tobacco industry has recorded its practices in creating addictive consumer goods. Access to these papers will allow consumers, governments, regulators and health practitioners alike to understand how the tobacco industry has systematically created and sustained markets for addictive and lethal tobacco goods and to fight more actively against it.

As Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director General of WHO has stated, "a cigarette is a euphemism for a cleverly crafted product that delivers just the right amount of nicotine to keep its user addicted for life before killing the person."

Tobacco consumption represents the single greatest public health risk, as over one-third of the global adult population uses tobacco. WHO has called publicly, and at several different international meetings at the highest decision-making levels, for comprehensive strategies to reduce tobacco use.

For further information, journalists can contact Gregory Hartl, Office of Press and Public Relations, WHO, Geneva. Telephone (41 22) 791 44 58. Fax (41 22) 791 48 58. E-Mail: hartlg@who.int