Following its approval by 171 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) on 1 March 2003, a groundbreaking public health treaty to control tobacco supply and consumption will be considered for adoption at the World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting that will begin 19 May in Geneva. The WHA is the supreme decision-making body for the WHO, and its main function is to determine the Organization’s policies.

Called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the proposed treaty covers tobacco taxation, smoking prevention and treatment, illicit trade, advertising, sponsorship, promotion, and product regulation.

The negotiations that concluded on 1 March were the culmination of four years of work to produce an international tobacco control treaty. “The Convention we have agreed on is a real milestone in the history of global public health,” said Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of WHO. “Due to the actions that will follow from our shared commitments, millions and millions of lives will be saved.”