Physicians and Nurses Against Tobacco (PANAT) Petition Pope Benedict XVI to Condemn Tobacco Industry, and Tobacco Use, and Declare Vatican First Tobacco- Fr...( PROVIDENCE R.I. MARCH 11 -- Phys...),Health

PROVIDENCE, R.I., MARCH 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Physicians and Nurses Against Tobacco, Inc., (PANAT) an organization of physicians, nurses, health-care officials and supporters, are petitioning Pope Benedict XVI to condemn the production, distribution, sale and use of tobacco, and, as a Head of State, to declare the Vatican the first tobacco-free country. PANAT is petitioning the Pope as a political, spiritual, and moral leader to set an example for others entrusted with a similar duty to protect.

PANAT, through its official web site, http://www.unholysmoke.org, is assembling a petition addressed to the Pope that will be published in The Boston Globe newspaper in April 2008 on the occasion of the visit of the Pope to the United States to address the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Recently, Claude A. Curran MD, founding member and president of Physicians and Nurses Against Tobacco, said to a group of health-care providers in New England: " We have witnessed the effects of smoking on the health of our patients and we realize the message to 'quit' is futile. Nicotine addiction is too powerful; few smokers can definitively quit their habit. We have to band together to change public policies and positions toward the production, distribution, sale and use of tobacco. Leaders are entrusted with the care and protection of their citizens. They can no longer overlook the scientific research demonstrating the danger of tobacco."

A recent World Health Organization report entitled "Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008" {Issued Thursday, February 7th, 2008} reported tobacco use killed over 100 million people worldwide in the 20th century and would kill over 1 billion people in the 21st century unless governments act now to reduce its use.

Dr. Curran went on to say: "Physicians and Nurses Against Tobacco is convinced that tobacco is a social evil harnessing societies the world over wit
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