Dear Chairperson, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen.
On behalf of the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, or FCTC, I thank you for the opportunity to make this statement.
Tobacco use is one of the world’s leading causes of preventable death, killing over 8 million people globally every year. The cost of smoking – including related health expenditures and productivity losses – is estimated at over US$1.4 trillion annually.
Illicit trade in tobacco products undermines tobacco control efforts, causes substantial losses in government revenues, and at the same time contributes to the funding of international criminal activities.
The illicit tobacco trade stems from a wide range of causes, including weaknesses in governance and regulation, corruption, insufficient enforcement capacity, and organized crime networks.
To address this global problem, Parties to the WHO FCTC adopted in 2012 the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
This Protocol entered into force in 2018 and now has 66 Parties. Importantly, 64 of them are ALSO Party to UNTOC.
The text of the Protocol refers specifically to the importance of other international agreements like UNTOC. Also recalls and emphasizes that Parties to these other treaties have an obligation under them to apply, as appropriate, the relevant provisions of those treaties to combat illicit trade in tobacco products.
Eliminating illicit trade in tobacco products requires a comprehensive multisectoral approach and international cooperation.
I would like to encourage the Parties to UNTOC that are not yet Party to our Protocol to join us. Both the Protocol – AND the global fight against organized crime - grow stronger with the addition of each new Party.
I would also like to take this opportunity to invite international intergovernmental organizations to support the implementation of the Protocol and to acknowledge the role of tobacco control – and eliminating illicit trade - in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
And I also invite the distinguished delegates to the side event organized by us and co-sponsored by the government of India and the World Customs Organization, that will discuss the links between illicit trade in tobacco products and other criminal activities.
Thank you.