U.N. says no smoking, but ban not honored

UNITED NATIONS, May 31 (UPI) -- The United Nations called for an indoor smoking ban on World No Tobacco Day while not enforcing a ban on smoking at its own headquarters.

The World Health Organization said Thursday it wants an end to workplace smoking to protect people from secondhand smoke, while U.N. staffers are regularly exposed to smoke at U.N. World Headquarters in New York.

In New York City, smoking is banned in all workplaces. The U.N. building is exempt from local laws because of its international designation. There is a General Assembly resolution banning smoking in the building, but it is largely ignored.

U.N. spokeswoman Michelle Montas acknowledged the contradiction. When asked if the ban would be enforced in honor of the day, she said she would have to "go around the hallways and find out."

People are regularly found smoking at the Viennese Cafe, a coffee and dessert bar in the basement of the building. Smoke can also frequently be smelled near reporters' offices in the U.N. Secretariat building.

Tobacco is the second major cause of death worldwide and will kill half of the 650 million people who smoke regularly, the WHO said. Also, thousands of people who have never smoked die every year from disease caused by secondhand tobacco smoke.

According to the WHO, "neither ventilation nor filtration, alone or in combination, can reduce exposure levels of tobacco smoke indoors to levels that are considered acceptable, even in terms of odor, much less health effects."