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WHO Approves Sweeping Anti-Tobacco Treaty
GENEVA â The World Health Organization adopted a sweeping anti-tobacco treaty Wednesday in an unprecedented global push to regulate a product it says kills half of its regular users. "Today, we are acting to save billions of lives and protect people's health for generations to come," said WHO director-general Gro Harlem Brundtland, who made the anti-smoking drive the top priority of her five-year tenure. "What a wonderful moment in global public health," said New Zealand Health Minister Annette King, adding that around 20 million people had died since the talks began. The so-called Framework Convention on Tobacco Control provides for a general ban on tobacco advertising and promotion — or simply restrictions in countries like the United States, where a total prohibition would violate the constitution. For months, anti-smoking activists have accused the United States — home to the world's biggest exporter Philip Morris — of trying to undermine the treaty. The text was agreed March 1 over U.S. objections that it did not allow countries to opt out of individual clauses. Much work now lies ahead in trying to put the terms of the convention into practice, especially in developing countries that have only weak domestic legislation and which are expected to account for 70 percent of the forecast 10 million annual deaths by 2030. "It is not the happy end of the story but rather the beginning of a new challenge for WHO," said Japan's chief delegate Yoshio Kimura. Japan â which has a controlling stake in Japan Tobacco International â held out against tough provisions until the closing stages of the talks. Developing countries have been at the fore in pushing for the convention, saying they need protection from tobacco multinationals who have switched their sales drives from saturated Western markets to Asia and Africa. Posted by: Secret Master 2003-05-21 |
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