World No Tobacco Day: Ready To Fight the Menace Head On

Now that the world governments have agreed to reduce preventable deaths from NCDs by 25 % by 2025, it is expected that governments will strictly follow commitments and targets both within and outside FCTC. The year's  ‘World No Tobacco Day-2012’ theme 'tobacco industry interference', assumes significance because in a way it amounts to declaring war against tobacco producing companies for their aggressive efforts to undermine the health objectives under FCTC.

Another milestone in tobacco control shall be the adoption of a new Protocol to address illicit trade in tobacco products. The adoption is expected in  the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC in Seoul, Republic of Korea, in November 2012. The text of the Protocol has already been agreed to after four years of  negotiations by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), with the participation of over 135 countries; the INB was established by the Conference of the Parties in 2007. When approved, it would become the first Protocol to the WHO FCTC. 

Ian Walton-George, Chairman of the INB, had said earlier, “This is a historic moment for global tobacco-control efforts, as this is the first protocol under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)”. He added that, “By agreeing to this Protocol, governments have reiterated their commitment to protect public health and tackle illicit trade in tobacco products.”

The Protocol sets the rules for combating illicit trade in tobacco products through control of the supply chain. It also establishes what constitutes unlawful conduct and sets out related enforcement and international cooperation measures. Under the Protocol, the Parties propose to establish a global tracking and tracing system for tobacco products and have reached agreement on other measures, such as licensing, liability, enforcement, information-sharing and mutual legal assistance. These measures are designed to counteract and eventually eliminate the illicit trade in tobacco products.

Like any harmful or prohibited product, illicit trade in tobacco products increases its accessibility and affordability, thus contributing to the spread of the tobacco epidemic, which is a global problem of serious consequences to health. It also undermines national economies and the tobacco-control policies of governments. The Protocol builds upon and complements Article 15 of the WHO FCTC. 

The WHO FCTC was adopted by the World Health Assembly on 21 May 2003 and entered into force on 27 February 2005. It has since become one of the most rapidly and widely embraced treaties in United Nations history, with 174 Parties to date. FCTC is itself the first and only global health treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO.

It appears the world is readying to face the killer tobacco head on!