Global Tobacco Treaty Enters into Force

The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) entered into force on Feb. 27, following its ratification by 57 countries, including seven Member States of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

The convention aims to save millions of lives now lost to tobacco and is the first global public health treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO and its Member States.

The provisions of the treaty, which are binding for ratifying countries, are based on measures that tobacco control experts say are the most effective means available to reduce tobacco use.The provisions call on countries to:

• Ban all tobacco advertising and promotion within five years of the treaty’s entry into force.
• Require health warning labels that cover at least 30 percent of the surface of tobacco packages, within three years.
• Protect people from secondhand smoke in all indoor public places and workplaces.
• Consider increasing prices and taxes on tobacco products.

These measures have already been implemented by countries of all income levels and have proven to be highly cost-effective, says Heather Selin, a PAHO expert on tobacco control.

"For every 10 percent price increase on tobacco products, you see a decline in per capita consumption of 4 to 8 percent," says Selin. "Smoke-free workplaces reduce consumption among smokers by nearly 30 percent." She adds that strong graphic health warnings on tobacco packages have been shown to be effective in informing smokers about health dangers and in motivating their attempts to quit. Countries with bans or comprehensive restrictions on tobacco advertising and promotion have reduced consumption much more than countries with no or partial restrictions, Selin says.

Western Hemisphere countries are already among the world leaders in tobacco control. Canada, Cuba, the United States and Uruguay have implemented smoke-free environments in a number of sectors and jurisdictions. Brazil, Canada and Venezuela require tobacco packages to carry graphic health warnings that are among the strongest in the world. Brazil, Canada and Cuba have comprehensive restrictions on tobacco promotion.

Countries of the Americas participated in the negotiations leading up to the treaty, and as of mid-March, seven had ratified the treaty: Canada, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Uruguay.

The final FCTC text was adopted unanimously by the World Health Assembly in May 2003. By late November 2004, 40 countries had become contracting parties to the treaty—the trigger that brought it into force 90 days later.By late February, 17 additional countries had ratified it, making it one of the most rapidly embraced U.N. treaties in history.