Smokers will no longer be recruited by the World Health Organisation, according to a strict new employment policy introduced by the UN's health agency on Thursday.
The policy was announced to job seekers on the WHO's website. New vacancy notices carried a stark warning to candidates for posts world-wide: "WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or other tobacco users." Application forms now ask candidates if they smoke and if they would continue to do so if they were employed by the WHO.
WHO spokesman Iain Simpson said anyone who answers "yes" to both questions will not be invited to an interview. The agency believes its credibility in promoting the principle of a tobacco-free environment is at stake.
"The WHO is campaigning against tobacco and the tobacco industry, and has led efforts to adopt the international anti-tobacco treaty. For us it's a question of principle," Simpson told AFP.