Dedicated to Fighting the
World Wide Smoking Epidemic by
Supporting a Strong WHO-Sponsored Tobacco
Control Treaty
|
|
Action on Smoking and Health
Home Page | Subscribe | About ASH Deutsch | Español | Français | Italiano
|
|
| Urge the US to Ratify the FCTC Why the Problem is So Important Current Proposed Text of Treaty Upcoming Events |
Where does the Treaty Stand Now?
Tobacco kills almost five million people each year. If current trends continue, it is projected to kill 10 million people a year by 2020, with 70% of those deaths occurring in developing countries. Tobacco also takes an enormous toll in health care costs, lost productivity, and of course the intangible costs of the pain and suffering inflicted upon smokers, passive smokers and their families. In May 2003, the member countries of the World Health Organization adopted an historic tobacco control treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which has the potential to reduce this terrible toll.FCTC TEXT AND SUMMARY AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET The full text of the draft FCTC is available on the internet at: The last and final round of negotiations took place between February 17th through February 28, 2003 in Geneva. The following text is the result of the negotiations. Draft WHO framework convention on tobacco control The Nations of the World have taken action to reduce the global tobacco epidemic by creating a fairly strong Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) during the last round of negotiations that ended on February 28, 2003. While the treaty does not require the adoption of all the policies that it recommends, it does provide countries with a roadmap for enacting strong, science-based policies that can save lives and improve health. Of course, some weaknesses remain in the text and some may argue that the final text is not fully proportional to the disease and death caused by tobacco. However, we now have a treaty that will provide countries with the basic tools for enacting comprehensive tobacco control legislation and take on the tobacco industry. Now, the key to the treaty's success is whether individual nations will begin implementing the strong measures contained in the FCTC. The Convention requires countries to adopt the following policies proven
to reduce smoking and save lives: The Convention entreats countries to: The Convention falls short of expectations by: We went into the last round of negotiations with a fairly weak text that did not reflect the wishes expressed by the majority of nations during former rounds of negotiations. Instead, the text expressed the needs of a small number of powerful but selfish countries that are home to large tobacco multinationals such as Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco International and are involved in the export of tobacco products. The countries that opposed a strong treaty were, as usual, the US, Germany, Japan and China. However, strong blocks and coalitions of developing countries that demanded a strong FCTC had been formed during previous rounds of negotiations. Those developing countries, which are under assault by massive tobacco industry marketing and political pressure campaigns, fought back in Geneva, and the strengthening of the treaty during this last round of negotiations is a tribute to their courage and persistence in resisting the efforts by the United States, Germany and Japan to weaken the treaty and water down crucial clauses. Developing countries formed a strong alliance with NGOs and championed our positions during the negotiations. The actions of the United States have been disappointing as usual, especially its persistent efforts to attack provisions of the treaty such as the advertising ban, warning label requirements and protection from exposure to tobacco smoke. To the very end, the United States supported positions that protected the interests of the tobacco industry rather than public health around the world. The U.S. delegation continuously stood in the way of proposals that included tough, enforceable provisions and pressured developing countries that fought for a strong treaty. The treaty would have been even stronger if not for the U.S. efforts. In addition, the US government may still attempt to attack the treaty before it is presented to the World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization next May. At the end of the negotiations two countries, the US and Germany, spoke out to say that they could not sign up to this text in May, and stated that they would like to re-open the text again in May. China and Japan gave more tentative responses, but did not voice outright disagreement. The majority of the 171 countries present during the negotiations support
the current text of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The countries
that reserved their position on the final text at INB-6 are the following:
The following revised text was used as the basis for negotiations: Chair'text
of a framework convention on tobacco control (pdf file) The most recent round of negotiations (INB5) took take place in Geneva between 14-25 October, 2002 (Updates from INB5). The New Chair's text of a framework convention on tobacco control was the document that used as the basis for negotiations. INB4 took place in Geneva from March 18 to March 24, 2002. Updates from INB4. To view the text that was used as the basis for negotiations click on the following link: INB4 Documents The third round of negotiations took place in Geneva from November 22 to November 28 2001. The positions and proposals presented by governments during the second round of talks had been incorporated in a revised draft text which included a wide range of amendments that were discussed. Updates from INB3. The draft for the FCTC called the 'Co-Chairs draft ' that was used during
INB3 can be viewed at the following links: The second round of negotiations were held in Geneva from April 30th to May 5th 2001. Over 150 countries participated at the last round of negotiations. At this meeting states broke into working groups and focused on a draft text of the proposed WHO framework convention on tobacco control drawn up by Mr Celso Amorim, the Brazilian ambassador in Geneva, who chairs the negotiating group. The draft, which was based on points made during the first negotiating session in October 2000, included proposals for a global ban on all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship which target young people under 18. Unfortunately, the draft stopped short of advocating an all-out ban, calling instead for ‘‘strict restrictions ’’on tobacco advertising and promotion targeted to adults. As we know, advertising targeted to adults can still be very appealing to youth since it presents smoking as an attractive adult activity. Other proposals in the draft treaty included the prohibition of tax-free and duty-free sales of tobacco products, price and tax measures aimed at lowering consumption, and an end to subsidies for tobacco production. The draft also proposed measures to crack down on smuggling, limit people’s exposure to second-hand smoke, improve product labeling and health warnings, and encourage people to stop smoking. Another element that was discussed during the negotiations, was the fact that the FCTC should be given priority over trade agreements. The chairman's text had introduced language that could possibly give priority to trade agreements and undermine the FCTC. The notion of giving priority to the FCTC was overwhelmingly supported by most nations. The US was one of the only nations that spoke in support of trade over public health. Governments remain split and delegates quickly found themselves in opposition over how vigorously the treaty should clamp down on tobacco advertising, sponsorship,and promotion. African, South Asian, Southeast Asian and Oceanian countries voiced strong support for many effective measures within the FCTC whilst many NGOs criticized the United States for being obstructionist. Countries such as the US, Japan and China whose governments have a large stake in Tobacco, are believed by some observers to be opposing the FCTC on commercial grounds. Meanwhile, the developing countries — consisting primarily of the new African bloc of about 50 states, together with some Asian countries, New Zealand, and Australia — argued in support of a strong FCTC with an all-out ban of tobacco advertising. Even Malawi and Zimbabwe —both tobacco- exporting countries —aligned with other African countries in support of a strong FCTC. PAST FCTC EVENTS:
IT'S EVERYONE'S PROBLEM |
|
Home Page | Subscribe | About ASH Presented as a public service by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH),
|
