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The vast majority of the world’s population is not protected by legislation to restrict smoking in public places, a World Health Organization (WHO) report has revealed.

According to the report on the global tobacco epidemic in 2009 only 5.4 percent of people affected by comprehensive smoke-free laws last year, although this has risen from 3.1 percent in 2007.

A total of 17 countries now have wide smoking ban, with seven - Colombia, Djibouti, Guatemala, Mauritius, Panama, Turkey and Zambia - to introduce their new rules in 2008.

Dr. Ala Alwan, WHO’s Deputy Director General for non-communicable diseases and mental health, said that while progress has been made,’ the fact that more than 94 percent of the population remains unprotected by comprehensive smoke-free laws shows that much more work to be done’.

‘An immediate action is necessary to protect people from death and disease caused by exposure to tobacco smoke,” the expert added.

Smoking is the single biggest cause of cancer in the world, accounting for one quarter of UK deaths from the disease.

Even people who do not smoke are exposed to passive smoking, which can raise a non-smoker’s risk of developing lung cancer by a quarter, according to Cancer Research UK.