President of the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Ambassador Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh;
Distinguished Representatives of the Parties to the WHO FCTC;
Distinguished Representatives from States Non Parties to the WHO FCTC and other Observers;
Ladies and gentlemen.
On behalf of the Convention Secretariat, I wish to welcome you to this, the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
This is the first time that I am addressing the Conference of the Parties, and I must tell you what an honor it is to be entrusted with the responsibility of leading the Convention Secretariat.
In the normal course of events, we would have met a year ago, but unfortunately the world was hit by an unprecedented crisis, the COVID 19 pandemic. It has changed life as we know it, and it has come at a terrible cost, with millions of lives lost to date.
As we stand on the threshold of our first ever virtual session of the Conference of the Parties, I must acknowledge the special circumstances that the global pandemic has forced on us. We are accustomed to working remotely, and to meeting virtually, as we are today, thanks to digital communications. But, I very much regret that we are not sitting together in the same room, so I do hope that we can tap into a mutual spirit of fraternal good efforts as we work together from many miles apart. This might well be the ‘new normal’ for work, and we count on our collective desire to move forward in protecting public health to give us the necessary flexibility for a successful session.
Coming back to the COVID-19 pandemic, it did not arrive in a vacuum but amidst many other global health problems. In fact, we are living through a syndemic, with catastrophic consequences for the most vulnerable among us.
During this time, the World Health Organization has reported that smokers face a greater likelihood of suffering worse health outcomes due to COVID-19. And similar negative outcomes are documented for those living with noncommunicable diseases – for which some of the main risk factors are tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.
Without a doubt, you are aware of the worldwide media attention focused on another COP - COP 26 on Climate Change. But we should remember there are important parallels between the decision of the Member States of the United Nations in 1992 to adopt the Framework Convention on Climate Change – and subsequent later global agreements - and the decision of the Member States of the World Health Organization to adopt the WHO FCTC in 2003.
Both treaties aim to protect our present and future generations. We know that tobacco damages the environment throughout its life cycle, from crop to post-consumer waste, contributing to deforestation, desertification, greenhouse emissions and plastic contamination. But probably the most important point shared at both COPs, is that the tobacco epidemic and climate change are both manmade and both are preventable. The first one is a complex matter requiring many different solutions before we reach our goal, while the second should be easier to solve.
In fact, we already have the solution to stop the unnecessary death toll caused by the tobacco epidemic. We have the right tool for it: the WHO FCTC, and we have the people who can implement it: all of you.
Ninety percent of the world’s population lives in countries that are Parties to the Convention. But still implementation of the important measures that the treaty contains is not as advanced as it should be. Last week, we launched the 2021 Global Progress Report, thanks to the information provided by the majority of the Parties in the 2020 Reporting Cycle. It reveals modest progress, but yet again highlights a lack of resources and the relentless interference of the tobacco industry as the main impediments for advancing tobacco control measures.
At the previous COP, you took the important step of adopting the Global Strategy to Accelerate Tobacco Control 2019 -2025. The Global Strategy seeks to advance sustainable development through the implementation of the Convention. In addition, the 2030 Sustainable Agenda, has included Target 3.a, calling on Parties to strengthen the implementation of the WHO FCTC as a means of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3.4, to decrease premature mortality caused by NCDs by one third by 2030. So, we see very clearly that tobacco control is not just about health; it is also about sustainable development as a whole.
Three years ago, the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products entered into force. It has 63 Parties – soon to be 64 - still a low number compared to the 182 Parties to the WHO FCTC. The Protocol is fundamental to protect the achievements we have made, since illicit trade in tobacco undermines many measures of the Convention, particularly those related to taxes, the most powerful individual tool to curb tobacco consumption.
In fact, increasing tobacco taxes not only has a strong impact on tobacco consumption, they can provide much needed sources of revenue as countries begin to recover from the pandemic. And tobacco control as a whole should be an integral part of “build back better” strategies, in order to have healthier, more resilient populations who can face current or future health crisis.
The tobacco industry and all those who work to further its interests have not slowed their efforts, even during these difficult times. On the contrary, once more they have taken the opportunity to prosper and sow confusion through a crisis. While we are struggling and in the midst of the global pandemic, the tobacco industry is redoubling its efforts to offer so called “Social Corporate Responsibility” activities, knowing that many governments are in dire straits as they face a lack of resources to help their communities through the pandemic.
And, of course, the industry continues its attempts to re-brand itself as The Solution. With capital letters. The Solution to this problem that WE, committed public health experts and activists have not – according to the industry’s narrative – yet been able to solve.
This problem that has been created, and perpetuated … by THEM.
The industry created the tobacco epidemic and it continues its efforts to undermine our public health progress at every opportunity.
Now the tobacco industry, in its desperation, is portraying the WHO FCTC as no longer fit for purpose. Yet strangely, the industry sees the need to continue interfering with the implementation of the Convention, as Parties have clearly reported. And added to its interference, the industry is using every effort to foster discord among us, exaggerating differences that we may take in our approaches, and minimizing our common goals and successes.
But I would like to reiterate what I said at another recent event: there are many more things that unite us than separate us. The tobacco industry is desperate to use this rhetoric of division to weaken us, and when we take heed of that rhetoric, indeed, we are weaker. Let me conclude by expressing my gratitude for the long hours put in by our Secretariat team in preparing for this virtual event, for the support provided by WHO, at country, regional and global levels, both in technical and operational matters. I appreciate all of the ingenuity and technical mastery that has gone into planning and supporting this virtual conference.
Thank you to everyone in attendance and for your unwavering commitment to protecting public health and saving lives through the implementation of the WHO FCTC. Together, with our eyes on our collective goal, we are stronger.
I wish us all a successful COP9.