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Update: Global Health Chiefs Back Quicker Implementation of Tobacco-Control Treaty

Posted by: Editor | May 2, 2011

Health ministers meeting in Moscow last week declared that speeding up implementation of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is critical to addressing the growing threat from non-communicable diseases, which cause nearly two out of three deaths around the globe.  They also called on more countries to ratify the pact.

Tobacco use is a risk factor for all of the leading non-communicable diseases, including cancer, heart disease, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes.  Earlier in the week the WHO named effective tobacco control policies as being among the top 10 "best buys" that governments can implement to reduce disease and save lives.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is the world’s first public health treaty. It commits nations to implement scientifically proven measures to reduce tobacco use, including smoke-free air policies; bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; large, graphic health warnings; and higher taxes on tobacco products.  There are 172 parties to the treaty, covering 87 percent of the world’s population. The United States has signed the pact, but not yet ratified it.

Political commitment and the will to resist tobacco industry lobbying and interference are critical to progress.  As The Washington Post put it: “… a cigarette is not like a microbe: It can’t be eliminated by a doctor. Fighting chronic diseases requires political decisions — in areas as disparate as finance, regulatory policy, agriculture, education and trade — and the will to see them through.”