I'm pleased to note that Canada, the host country of ICAO's Montreal headquarters, is the first country to fully implement this resolution. New Canadian regulations, ban smoking on all international flights by Canadian carriers. WHO has provided direct on-site assistance to over 20 member states since 1991, in helping them to strengthen their national tobacco control programs. Now with some encouragement from WHO, comprehensive tobacco control strategies are being phased in, in developing countries like China, Cote d'Ivoire, and Nepal, and in countries of Central and Eastern Europe, like Lithuania, Checz Republic, and Poland. We in WHO are doing what we can to encourage the development of global action to control tobacco, but the international tobacco control problem is great.
Resources are few.
Now that may change for the better, with a new International Tobacco Initiative, that has recently been launched by the Canadian International Development Research Centre. It is also clear that the tobacco pandemic will not be effectively addressed, unless public health agencies around the world work closely together on solutions to the problem. Through the outstanding success of this years World No-Tobacco Day celebration, that we're all enjoying right now. Tobacco or Health Program will be working hard to ensure that this prediction never comes true, but we need partners to help us achieve this goal. We know we can count on IDRC as one of our most active partners in this regard.