The 20th anniversary of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) featured as a major theme at the World Conference on Tobacco Control held in Dublin this week.
The conference brought together members of the tobacco control community from over 100 countries and marked the first time the conference was held in-person since 2018.
Key moments during the conference included a state-of-the-art session on reflecting on forward looking measures for the next 20 years of the WHO FCTC. Speakers were given two minutes to present and showcase experiences from countries in adopting and implementing forward looking measures in WHO Regions, including in low- and middle-income countries.
A closing plenary session also focused on the 20th anniversary since the entry into force of the WHO FCTC. Speakers included The Minister of Health of Ireland Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Dr Reina Roa, President of the COP reflected on the many gains that had been accomplished by Parties and the challenges ahead.
Dr Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Head of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC lauded the impact and called on more countries to ratify the Convention.
“The WHO FCTC has been instrumental in saving hundreds of millions of lives through legally binding measures,” said Dr Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Head of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC.
“Despite these major gains, there is a long way to go. We call on more Parties to ratify the Convention and to strengthen those life saving measures including raising taxes, enacting smoke free laws and more. Make no mistake, these measures will save millions more lives in countries.”
The conference also marked the launch of the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2025 which tracks the progress made by countries in tobacco control and revealed how more than 6 billion people, three-quarters of the world’s population, are protected by at least one MPOWER (with link) policy, compared to just 1 billion in 2007.
“Twenty years since the adoption of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, we have many successes to celebrate, but the tobacco industry continues to evolve and so must we,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.”
“By uniting science, policy and political will, we can create a world where tobacco no longer claims lives, damages economies or steals futures. Together, we can end the tobacco epidemic.”
This year marks a pivotal moment for global tobacco control. In addition to the World Conference on Tobacco for Health, two of the most important governing body meetings will take place in Geneva.
The Eleventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control will be held on 17-22 November 2025 and the Fourth Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP4) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products will be held on 24-26 November 2025.
These sessions will set the course for future tobacco control policies for the next two years, adopting key measures to advance public health and protect populations from the wide-ranging harms caused by the tobacco epidemic.
Notes to editors
The WHO FCTC is the first ever public health treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO with 183 Parties to the Convention covering 90% of the global population. The treaty provides a legal framework and a comprehensive package of evidence-based tobacco control measures underpinned by international law that have saved millions of lives including large pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages, smoke free laws and increased taxes on tobacco products, among many others.
The World Conference on Tobacco Control (formerly known as the World Conference on Tobacco or Health - WCTOH), the leading Conference on tobacco control, which is organised by The Union, will take place from 23-25 June 2025 with grant funding support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.