Editor’s Note: The FCTC is terrified that transparency and talking to the tobacco industry would undermine its treaty. What do they think transnational crime groups will do to it?
From: Devex
Global tobacco protocol short of 7 countries to become international treaty in 2018
MANILA — Illicit trade in tobacco products is costing governments billions of dollars, and is undermining global efforts toward tobacco control. A protocol aimed at eliminating tobacco illicit trade aims to address this, but five years since its adoption, it has yet to gather enough support to come into force.
The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade on Tobacco is the first protocol under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and was adopted in November 2012 by parties to the convention. The protocol is seen as a tool to help curb tobacco consumption, whose low price rates — particularly if purchased through illegal means — has become attractive and affordable to tobacco users in low- and middle-income countries. They comprise nearly 80 percent of the more than 1 billion tobacco users worldwide, contributing largely to the more than 6 million people deaths annually from tobacco-related causes.
