Action on Smoking and Health
A National Charitable Antismoking &
Nonsmokers' Rights Organization
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HOW THE TREATY WILL HELP THE TOBACCO EPIDEMIC

The negotiation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) offers a unique opportunity for global action to curtail the tobacco epidemic.

Once adopted, the FCTC will be the first international legal instrument that will
circumscribe the global spread of tobacco and tobacco products. As the World Health Organization states, "The FCTC in no ordinary convention. It is potentially a Public Health Movement."

• The FCTC will address trans-national and trans-border issues such as, global
  advertising, smuggling, environmental tobacco smoke and trade.

• The FCTC will move tobacco issues to a much higher profile within the UN and with national governments. It marks an important shift in the use of international legal instruments as a means of promoting public health.

• The FCTC will also serve as an important catalyst in strengthening national tobacco legislation and control programs.

• The process of negotiating and implementing the FCTC will help to mobilize technical and financial support for tobacco control and raise awareness among many government ministries and other entities concerned with tobacco issues.

• If properly negotiated, the FCTC could help turn the tide against the tobacco industry by weakening its political power and helping to end its unethical behavior through regulation and legislation.

• The process of developing the FCTC is likely to raise public awareness internationally about the strategies and tactics employed by the multinational tobacco companies.
  

• The FCTC could further international tobacco control, because in addition to imposing specific obligations which could be contained within the FCTC and related protocols, the process of developing the FCTC is likely to help strengthen tobacco control internationally.

• The process should enable and encourage governments to strengthen their national tobacco control policies by giving them greater access to scientific research and examples of best practice; motivating national leaders to rethink priorities as they respond to an ongoing international process; engaging powerful ministries, such as finance and foreign affairs, more deeply in tobacco control.
   
• The process of developing the FCTC is likely to mobilize technical and financial support for tobacco control at both national and international levels.

• The FCTC may make it politically easier for developing countries to resist the
  tobacco industry.

• The process of developing the FCTC is likely to mobilize non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other members of civil society in support of stronger tobacco control.