Editor’s Note: See, “Counterfeit Products, Genuine Harm: How Intellectual Property Theft Fuels Organized Crime While Undermining American Communities.”
From: Forbes
Today the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) kicks off its 7th conference meeting, known as COP7, in India. This convention advocates for limiting tobacco use globally through measures such as plain packaging and raising tobacco taxes. The conference is held behind closed doors, and media has been banned from attending and covering the events. A revised coalition letter against plain packaging, supported by more than 50 international organizations, has just been launched, denouncing the measure as a clear violation of intellectual property rights.
One of the protocols that will be brought up during COP7 is the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. The convention supports proposals like plain packaging in an attempt to reduce the number of people from smoking, yet fails to see some of the consequences of plain packaging mentioned above. This new protocol would do little to stop the illicit trade of tobacco products without pushing for the elimination of all plain packaging laws across the world.
