BY Taiwo Adebulu
International delegates at the eighth session of the global tobacco treaty negotiations have adopted strategies to reduce tobacco consumption.
The 181 parties met in Geneva, Switzerland, for the implementation of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
The parties met to set minimum standard to help them adopt strong control policies and legislation to tackle the widespread pandemic, causing seven million deaths a year worldwide.
The delegates adopted the strategy for institutions to reject partnerships with industry-funded groups that can undermine tobacco control.
The convention ejected delegates of big tobacco companies who attempt to delay and weaken policies to safeguard public health.
The parties adopted a landmark good governance policy that eliminates loopholes, shutting out the industry and protecting the treaty from interference.
Michel Legendre, associate campaign director at Corporate Accountability, said,“The tobacco industry is the single largest barrier to tobacco control policies globally—and these negotiations were no exception. We applaud the delegates that stood up to the industry and staunchly rejected their rhetoric. It is thanks to them that governments have now adopted precedent-setting measures that will protect millions of people’s lives.”
Akinbode Oluwafemi, deputy executive director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), said, “This deadly industry may claim it’s turning a new leaf, but we aren’t falling for its latest scam. Big Tobacco tries to confuse, sow doubt, and derail policy with its PR stunts, but governments around the world are rejecting its attempts.”
The treaty, which entered into force in 2005, contains the world’s most effective tobacco control and corporate accountability measures — estimated to save more than 200 million lives by 2050 if fully implemented.
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