Today marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), the global public health treaty that serves as the world’s front-line defence against the tobacco epidemic.
Adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2003, it became one of the most rapidly embraced treaties in United Nations history – now with 182 Parties, representing more than 90% of the world’s population. The Convention was the first treaty negotiated
under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO), and in 2018 its first protocol – the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products – was adopted, further strengthening tobacco control.
Those who inspired the WHO FCTC sought an innovative tool to tackle the tobacco epidemic, a global public health crisis driven by the tobacco industry and one that has had particularly devastating effects in low- and middle-income countries.
The WHO FCTC is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health and is designed to strengthen national and international coordination to combat the tobacco epidemic. It incorporates a variety of measures
on both the demand and the supply side to curb tobacco use.
“We are sending out a strong message that the Convention has proven its effectiveness and is as important today as it was 20 years ago,” said Dr Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Head of the WHO FCTC Secretariat. “However, we must also remember
the Convention is only as strong as its implementation at the country level.”
“Parties should strive to strengthen their implementation of the WHO FCTC and even consider going beyond its measures, in order to fully achieve the Convention’s goals,” she added.
There is solid evidence that robust implementation of WHO FCTC demand-reduction measures is “significantly associated with lower smoking prevalence, [and] with anticipated future reductions in tobacco-related morbidity and mortality”, according
to 2017 research.
The WHO global tobacco trends report released in 2021 showed that in 2020, 22.3% of the global population used tobacco – down from 29% in 2005. Still, 8
million people die every year due to tobacco-related causes.
However, the greatest barrier to implementation of the WHO FCTC is the same today as it was in 2003 – the tobacco industry and its agents.
History has shown that the tobacco industry’s public health claims cannot be trusted. The only proven, evidence-based means to ensure that global public health prevails is to press ahead with implementation of WHO FCTC and the Protocol. Each new
tobacco-control measure introduced in each country improves the health of countless thousands and adds to the millions of lives saved over the last two decades.
NOTE: The anniversary will be marked by a strategic roundtable event during the upcoming Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly at WHO in Geneva on 27 May 2023. The event will gather key players to commemorate WHO’s role as a global leader on its 75th anniversary. The round-table will event be followed by an award ceremony for the 2023 World No Tobacco Day Director-General’s Special Recognition Award.
