MANILA - The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that governments should pass and implement laws that will prevent premature deaths from tobacco-related diseases.

In a statement issued in observance of the World No Tobacco Day, Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, said such laws are crucial given that smoking has put 900 million people in the region at risk for tobacco-related illness such as lung cancer and heart disease.

Related readings:  WHO urges China to rev up tobacco control  WHO calls for tougher laws on smoking  Laws are only way to stop smoking, say CDC officials  Tobacco health warnings

"In our region, it is estimated that close to half of all men smoke and half of all women and children are regularly exposed to the deadly toxins of second-hand smoke at home and in public places," he said.

Of the World Health Organization's six regions, the Western Pacific Region has the biggest number of smokers. The WHO estimates that one in three cigarettes consumed globally is smoked in Asia Pacific countries. The region also has the highest rates of male smoking prevalence and the fastest increase in tobacco uptake by women and young people.

Shin said the socio-economic cost of tobacco use in the region is a "reason for alarm." In China, smoking accounts for about 1 million deaths per year. In South Korea, the total socio-economic cost of smoking in 2007 was estimated to have reached $6.1 billion.

Shin is encouraging governments in the region to use the provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) as the basis for laws to ban indoor smoking, imposing higher taxes on tobacco products and enforcing a comprehensive ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship of cigarettes.

"These are simple policy measures that will save lives and will also result in billions of dollars saved by preventing diseases, productivity losses and deaths from tobacco use," he said.