PHA-Exchange> Countries meet to finalize landmark agreement on International Tobacco Control

[Syed Mahbubul Alam Tahin]

International Tobacco Control
Source: HealthNewsDigest.com
Countries meet to finalize landmark agreement on International
Tobacco Control

GENEVA -- A groundbreaking moment in public health history is just
around the corner, as the sixth and final round of negotiations for
the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) begins next week
in Geneva. The convention is part of a global strategy to reduce
tobacco-related deaths and disease around the world.
When in force, this global health treaty the first ever under the
auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO) will include
international rules on tobacco taxation, smoking prevention and
treatment, illicit trade, advertising and promotion, and product
regulation.
The tobacco epidemic is killing 4.9 million people every year, which
will double in twenty years if we do nothing to stop it. We know that
a big part of the solution lies in promoting stop-smoking programmes,
raising tobacco taxes, increasing education, banning tobacco
advertising and cracking down on smuggling, said WHO
Director-General, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland. We are now very close to
the end of this convention process. Finalizing a text to support real
reductions in tobacco use will be a triumph for public health.
The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), which meets from 17-28
February, will discuss the newly revised text recently released by
INB chair, Brazilian Ambassador Luis Felipe de Seixas Corrêa. Both Dr
Brundtland and Ambassador Seixas Corrêa say that the text provides a
solid basis for broad acceptance while retaining a major impact on
public health.
The text I have proposed contains changes based on the last
negotiations in October and on meetings with countries since that
time. We have taken regional interests into account but must
ultimately look at global interests in crafting an effective treaty
to protect public health worldwide, said Ambassador de Seixas Corrêa.
This means producing a text that has teeth and that is also
acceptable to the widest possible number of countries. If both of
these conditions are not met, we will not have an effective
convention.
WHO member states are expected to reach consensus on a final text to
be submitted to the World Health Assembly for adoption in May. A key
aspect of the negotiations is the issue of a total ban on tobacco
advertising. The text states that a complete ban on advertising
should be the ultimate goal for signatories to the convention and
encourages early elaboration of a supporting protocol on eliminating
cross-border advertising and promotion.
WHO supports an outright ban on tobacco advertising, and I am
confident that the text leads the way to this end, said Dr
Brundtland.
Discussions during the negotiations will include future protocols to
the FCTC to further strengthen regulation on tobacco advertising and
illicit trade.
Tobacco control activities have increased around the world as a
result of the FCTC process, which encourages strong domestic policies
in concert with global regulation. Capacity-building projects have
begun in numerous countries to assist them in adopting stronger
tobacco-control legislation.
Moreover, tobacco-use surveys are being standardized to make
comparative analysis easier. The Global Youth Tobacco Survey, which
began in 1998 and tracks the tobacco use of young people around the
world, continues to collect data in more and more countries.
Information from surveys helps countries to implement effective
tobacco control and prevention programmes.
URL: http://www.mdx.com/news/?news_ID=590401&category=1
Framework Convention Alliance
www.FCTC.org





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