Pity the poor smoker

It's going to get harder to keep smoking:

A global anti-tobacco treaty came into force Sunday, but a leading expert said it needs strengthening fast if it is to be effective in curbing the killer habit that claims 5 million lives a year.

Dr. Derek Yach, the World Health Organization's former anti-tobacco chief who oversaw the drafting of the treaty, hailed the accord, known as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, as a first step.

The treaty, known as the FCTC, requires its ratifiers to restrict tobacco advertising and sponsorship, put tougher health warnings on cigarettes and limit use of language such as "low-tar" and "light." They are to enact price and tax hikes, create controls on secondhand smoke and sales of cigarettes to youngsters, and clamp down on smuggling.

Why not charge $20 and include a chunk of freeze-dried cancerous lung in every pack? Scary. Or maybe have one explosive cigarette hidden amongst the contents of a carton. Kapow, there goes a finger or the tip of your nose. Feel like quitting now, before your second hand smoke kills every living thing within a three kilometre radius?

Ah, not to worry, if the UN's running the anti-smoking show the number of smokers is bound to sky-rocket.