The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Abstract

The unconditional support for WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) shown by Martin Raw, Judith MacKay, and Srinath Reddy warrants discussion.1Raw M Mackay J Reddy S Time to take tobacco dependence treatment seriously.Lancet. 2016; 387: 412-413Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (16) Google Scholar The World Oncology Forum ranked tobacco control first among its ten priorities,2Cavelli F Stop cancer now!.Lancet. 2013; 381: 426-427Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (15) Google Scholar but the Convention is one more failure to add to the record of WHO's bureaucracy.3Braillon A Global health challenges facing bureaucracy: democratization or revolution?.Public Health. 2014; 128: 1134-1135Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1) Google Scholar, 4Lancet1 year on—lessons from the Ebola outbreak for WHO.Lancet. 2015; 385: 1152Google ScholarFirst, from 1980 to 2004, the annual decrease in the prevalence of daily smoking was on a fast track, reaching 2% in 2004, the year of the Convention. Since then it has levelled off, and the 2012 annual rate of change in prevalence of daily smoking was almost zero.5Ng M Freeman MK Fleming TD et al.Smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption in 187 countries, 1980–2012.JAMA. 2014; 311: 183-192Crossref PubMed Scopus (1088) Google ScholarSecond, WHO claims the FCTC has 180 parties, but exhibits little concern for implementation of the Convention. The sixth session of the Conference of the Convention was held in Moscow in 2014, with 179 countries, 46 of which were essentially tourists as they failed to produce their self-assessment report. WHO took no action. Such soft diplomacy is hardly acceptable when parties such as Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Ukraine, and Cuba challenged Australia's plain tobacco packaging law before the World Trade Organization (WTO), acting in support of tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris.In October, 2015, European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly criticised the Commission's failure to comply with FCTC rules regarding tobacco industry lobbying. The Commission has responded by repeating that it “complies in full” with the rules.6Corporate Europe ObservatoryEuropean Commission complacent on tobacco industry influence.http://corporateeurope.org/pressreleases/2016/02/european-commission-complacent-tobacco-industry-influenceDate: Feb 8, 2016Google Scholar Again, the WHO remains blind and silent, making the Convention worth no more than the paper on which it is written.I declare no competing interests. The unconditional support for WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) shown by Martin Raw, Judith MacKay, and Srinath Reddy warrants discussion.1Raw M Mackay J Reddy S Time to take tobacco dependence treatment seriously.Lancet. 2016; 387: 412-413Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (16) Google Scholar The World Oncology Forum ranked tobacco control first among its ten priorities,2Cavelli F Stop cancer now!.Lancet. 2013; 381: 426-427Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (15) Google Scholar but the Convention is one more failure to add to the record of WHO's bureaucracy.3Braillon A Global health challenges facing bureaucracy: democratization or revolution?.Public Health. 2014; 128: 1134-1135Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1) Google Scholar, 4Lancet1 year on—lessons from the Ebola outbreak for WHO.Lancet. 2015; 385: 1152Google Scholar First, from 1980 to 2004, the annual decrease in the prevalence of daily smoking was on a fast track, reaching 2% in 2004, the year of the Convention. Since then it has levelled off, and the 2012 annual rate of change in prevalence of daily smoking was almost zero.5Ng M Freeman MK Fleming TD et al.Smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption in 187 countries, 1980–2012.JAMA. 2014; 311: 183-192Crossref PubMed Scopus (1088) Google Scholar Second, WHO claims the FCTC has 180 parties, but exhibits little concern for implementation of the Convention. The sixth session of the Conference of the Convention was held in Moscow in 2014, with 179 countries, 46 of which were essentially tourists as they failed to produce their self-assessment report. WHO took no action. Such soft diplomacy is hardly acceptable when parties such as Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Ukraine, and Cuba challenged Australia's plain tobacco packaging law before the World Trade Organization (WTO), acting in support of tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris. In October, 2015, European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly criticised the Commission's failure to comply with FCTC rules regarding tobacco industry lobbying. The Commission has responded by repeating that it “complies in full” with the rules.6Corporate Europe ObservatoryEuropean Commission complacent on tobacco industry influence.http://corporateeurope.org/pressreleases/2016/02/european-commission-complacent-tobacco-industry-influenceDate: Feb 8, 2016Google Scholar Again, the WHO remains blind and silent, making the Convention worth no more than the paper on which it is written. I declare no competing interests.