Your Excellencies, Distinguished Partners, Esteemed Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
In 2003, the Member States of the World Health Organization made history when they adopted the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
The treaty, which entered into force 16 years ago, marked an important milestone in global public health and represented a major victory for better health and tobacco control.
Tobacco is one of the world’s most serious health challenges – and saying so in this moment when we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic – may sound strange, but it’s true.
And that’s because tobacco kills 8 million people globally every year. And around
1 million of those deaths occurs in people simply exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke.
Even though tobacco does not have a biological vector – such as infected mosquitoes that spread malaria – it does have a non-biological one: the tobacco industry and its relentless marketing strategies.
In fact, tobacco-related diseases are considered a pandemic – a slow, lethal and prolonged pandemic that has killed 1 billion people over the last century.
But tobacco is not only a health problem.
Tobacco also has economic repercussions, as it impoverishes families and communities, impedes national economic progress, and burdens health systems.
In addition, tobacco throughout its life cycle – from farming and manufacturing to disposal – does irreparable harm to the environment.
The case is clear: implementing the WHO FCTC is a powerful means for Parties to improve the lives of their citizens and ensure a better future of their countries.
And it’s for this reason that the Convention has been included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a means of implementing SDG 3, which calls for good health and well-being.
At the 8th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC in October 2018, Parties endorsed the Global Strategy to Accelerate Tobacco Control 2019–2025 in order to advance sustainable development through the implementation of the Convention.
The Global Strategy has been developed by and for Parties and sets out priorities over the next five years. It also serves as a useful tool for the development of national actions plans.
We have a common enemy that invests tremendous effort and unlimited resources to undermine our work.
The tobacco industry earns vast profits by addicting its customers to nicotine, which it sells in different forms. And this industry does not want anything to change.
Countries with transitional economies – including Ukraine – are seen by the tobacco industry as opportunities to expand their market.
Ukraine become Party to the WHO FCTC in 2006, and I would like to congratulate the country on progress in implementing measures such as the promotion of smoke-free environments, the introduction of pictorial health warnings on tobacco products, a ban on tobacco advertising and higher tobacco taxes.
These important actions decreased the prevalence of tobacco use in Ukraine among adults and – even more markedly – among youth, over the last decade.
However, further progress in saving lives requires a new set of actions and political commitments since the tobacco industry continuously creates new challenges.
For example, today, many countries face the aggressive marketing of new tobacco products and electronic cigarettes to youth. This needs to stop!
Regarding heated tobacco products, it is important to note that the 8th Session of the Conference of the Parties adopted a decision on Novel and Emerging Tobacco Products, in which Parties recognized that heated tobacco products are – in fact – tobacco products, and therefore they subject to the provisions of the WHO FCTC.
In plain language that means heated tobacco products should not be used in smoke-free environments; should be included in bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; should carry health warnings; and should be taxed, among other actions.
Ukraine, fortunately, has begun to act on this problem by raising taxes by 300% for heated tobacco products.
Before concluding, I also want to highlight the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, a complementary treaty that builds upon Article 15 of the WHO FCTC, which targets illicit trade in tobacco products.
The Protocol will help protect the gains made under the WHO FCTC by keeping illicit – and usually cheap and easily available – tobacco products out of the market.
Currently, the Protocol has 62 Parties, and more Parties are needed in order to make it as strong as the WHO FCTC itself.
I sincerely hope that Ukraine will consider becoming Party to the Protocol soon and take advantage of the new opportunities for international cooperation that the Protocol provides.
Thank you.