The ninth Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) will operate under conditions of secrecy comparable to those of the U.N. Security Council, according to a new report by the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR) titled, Fighting the Last War: The WHO and International Tobacco Control.
The public and media are banned from attending all but one largely ceremonial opening plenary, yet millions will be affected by the decisions taken at COP9, which is scheduled to take place virtually Nov. 8–13.
The report contends that current implementation of the FCTC is a global public health failure. In force since 2005, when there were 1.1 billion smokers around the world, the FCTC set out the principles of global tobacco control—to reduce the death and disease caused by smoking. In 2021, however, there are still 1.1 billion smokers worldwide and 8 million smoking-related deaths each year. What’s more, the number of smokers is predicted to rise, and the number of smoking-related deaths is set to top 1 billion this century.
Tobacco Reporter – 2021-10-27.
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