Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
relationship with the world bank in particular. this was assisted by the fact that world
bank policy on tobacco had long incorporated health concerns, having committed
in 1991 to working with countries to reduce tobacco use and refusing to lend for
activities supporting tobacco production, processing, or marketing. additionally,
as British American Tobacco ([BAT] 1999) noted, visibly supporting the FCTC
advanced the world bank's broader strategic interests under its president, James
Wolfensohn, having adopted a 'much broader definition of economic development'
with its leadership being 'anxious to demonstrate its new-found social conscience'.
the increasing engagement of the world bank played a critical enabling role
in the development of the Fctc, and particularly in building support for it among
developing countries. a landmark in this regard was the 1999 publication by the
world bank of
Curbing the Epidemic: Governments and the Economics of Tobacco
Control
, which depicted comprehensive tobacco control measures as providing a
virtuous circle of enhancing revenue and advancing public health:
Policies that reduce the demand for tobacco, such as a decision to increase tobacco taxes,
would not cause long-term job losses in the vast majority of countries. nor would higher
tobacco taxes reduce tax revenues; rather, revenues would climb in the medium term. Such
policies could, in sum, bring unprecedented health benefits without harming economies
(Jha and chaloupka 1999).
the report made an important formal contribution to the process, being cited by
the Fctc working groups as providing empirical evidence to support the demand
reduction strategies included in the proposed draft that was adopted as the base text
from which the Inb initiated negotiations (Yach
et al. 2007).
the report's extensive dissemination has been critical in undermining the
widespread belief in the existence of net economic benefits from tobacco production
and consumption, the pervasiveness of which has historically constituted the single
greatest political obstacle to the progress of effective regulation. Its impact was
consolidated by subsequent more detailed exploration of economic issues relating
to tobacco use in developing countries (Jha and chaloupka 2000). It is also worth
noting the tobacco industry's internal recognition of the significance of Brundtland's
ability to attract active support from the world bank to the Fctc's prospects of
success (bat 1999).
Extensive Participation by WHO Member States
Given the wHo's structure as an international organisation, its success in pursuing
the convention inevitably relied on the extent to which it could engage the active
support and participation of its member states. the level of involvement was generally
impressive throughout the protracted process, although inevitably characterised
by inequalities across national delegations in terms of their scale and breadth of
expertise. resolution 52.18 was unanimously adopted by the wHa in 1999, with a
record 50 states taking to the floor to commit political and economic support (WHO
