Kathmandu, May 30 Smoking and tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable deaths in almost all parts of the world. In eleven countries across Southeast Asia, including Nepal, 1.3 million people die every year because of tobacco related diseases equivalent to 150 fatalities per hour. A press statement issued here today by WHO Regional Director for South-east Asia Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said that tobacco use continues to be a major public health issue across the region. The press release said, “The message isn’t getting through: Tobacco kills. A good way to amplify it and disrupt the psychology of tobacco consumption is making plain packaging of tobacco products  also known as standardised packaging – mandatory.” According to the statement, plain packaging is defined as removing brand images and any promotional information from tobacco packaging and replacing it with graphic health warnings, dull colour combinations, brand and product name, and/or manufacturer’s name in standardised font. “The aesthetic impact of plain packaging is significant, with studies showing that it has a tangible effect on the desirability of tobacco products,” the statement reads. It further said that as smoking levels decline in high-income countries, tobacco companies are increasingly relying on market presence in developing economies, including those of the South-east Asia Region. Dr Singh in the statement said that this presence must be resisted. “Tobacco’s impact goes beyond public health, stymieing the growth prospects of developing economies and burdening taxpayers and health systems whose finite resources could be better used elsewhere,” she said in the statement. Though all 11 member countries, including Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, have developed and implemented tobacco control legislation, children, youth and adults continue to be subjected to pro-tobacco messages in media and also encounter product advertising at outlets where tobacco is sold, said the statement, urging renewed commitment to stopping the tobacco epidemic. “The Seventh Session of the Conference of Parties to the Framework Convention, due to be held by India in November will provide an opportunity to renew commitments,” it said, adding, “It will also provide an opportunity to emphasise the importance of plain packaging and open discussions on its uptake in the Region.” The statement further stressed that plain packaging was one of the easiest ways to help our friends and family live longer and healthier lives and was an initiative that would gain momentum. “On World No Tobacco Day we must consider the harm the region’s tobacco epidemic is doing and consider ways to counter it with immediate effect,” Dr Singh said adding, “We must all get ready to support plain packaging.” ‘Two die every hour of tobacco use’ At least two people die every hour in Nepal due to tobacco use, said Lokendra Kumar Shrestha, president of Nepal Cancer Relief Society. He said, “Studies show that around 15,700 people died of cancer caused by tobacco use in 2014/15. The number of tobacco users and fatalities linked to tobacco use has increased in recent years.” He claimed that around 14,000 children are using tobacco in Nepal at present. Of the total number of tobacco users in Nepal, 24.60 per cent are male and 16.40 per cent are female. On the occasion of ‘World No Tobacco Day 2016’ tomorrow, NCRS is set to organise a mass rally with the slogan ‘Get Ready for plain Packaging’. He said that the rally will begin from Bhrikutimandap at 7:30am, and march through Putalisadak, Baghbazar, Ratnapark, and finally Bhrikutimandap again. A total of 1,500 individuals from various schools, non-government organisations, and other individual participants are expected to participate in the rally. “We have formed ‘Quiet Clubs’ of students from grades VIII, IX and X in 45 schools to raise awareness about the repercussions of tobacco use,” he added. He further said that schoolchildren have been conducting awareness-raising activities about the use of tobacco in their schools, localities, and homes.