Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
chapter 12
Globalisation
the Framework convention
on tobacco control
Jeff collin and Kelley lee
Unanimous endorsement by the 56th world Health assembly (wHa) in 2003
signalled the successful conclusion of four years of negotiations for the world
Health Organization's (WHO) Framework convention on tobacco control (Fctc).
comprising two preliminary meetings of a working group and six sessions of an
intergovernmental negotiating body (Inb), these negotiations constituted the wHo's
first attempt to exercise its constitutional authority to develop a global public health
treaty (Shibuya
et al. 2003). although lacking in binding obligations, the agreed text
incorporates a wide array of measures and represents a reasonable approximation
of current best practice in tobacco control. among key features are provisions
encouraging parties to the convention to
• enact comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship;
• require large, rotating health warnings on packaging, to cover at least 30 percent
of principal display areas, and with provision for pictorial warnings;
• prohibit the use of misleading descriptors such as 'light' or 'mild';
• increase taxation of tobacco products;
• provide greater protection from involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke; and
• develop measures to combat smuggling (Hammond and assunta 2003).
While clearly a remarkable development within the field of tobacco control, the
FCTC assumes broader significance as a striking innovation in health governance.
Importantly, it constitutes an attempt to develop an appropriate response to
globalisation, recognising the inability of traditional national and international
governance to counter the health impacts of transnational tobacco companies
effectively. this chapter begins with an account of the initiation of the Fctc process,
situating its development within the context of the broader challenges confronting the
wHo in the mid 1990s. It then examines core features of the negotiations, focussing
on the role of the world bank, the participation of member states, and the contribution
