The World Health Organization (WHO) in a report published on Wednesday 12 June specifies and quantifies the effects on the health of Europeans caused by products from the four main industrial sectors, especially if someone is exposed to them in an offensive way.
The sectors of the tobacco industry, ultra-processed food production, alcohol and fossil fuel production, and energy production (from hydrocarbons) are directly reported by the international organization, To Vima reported.
WHO urges governments to adopt, in order to protect public health, a stricter regulatory framework for the production, distribution and consumption of products that experts believe are responsible for 2.7 million deaths per year in Europe.
“These four industries kill at least 7,000 people every day on the European continent,” Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said in the report. The Agency’s research covered a wide geographic area including 53 countries.
“The business practices of these industries are based on the exploitation of vulnerable people through targeted marketing strategies. In other words, they are based on deceiving consumers and spreading false claims about the supposed benefits of their products or the supposed environmental friendliness of their activities and their products,” the official said. “These practices undermine the fight and prevention of non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, which are responsible for four out of ten deaths in Europe,” added Hans Kluge.
“They maximize profits.” According to WHO, by promoting their products, tobacco, food, fossil fuel and alcohol giants are interfering with the agency’s and other bodies’ efforts to prevent and control deadly diseases, such as cancer or diabetes .
The groups maximize profits and put public health at risk,” the WHO report said.
