Landmark global tobacco control treaty

- Murray Horton

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was adopted by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in May 2003, after four long and hard years of negotiation and campaigning by the international tobacco control movement. This is the first time that WHO has adopted such a treaty. The FCTC provides for a general ban on tobacco advertising and promotion (which has been the status quo in New Zealand for more than a decade) or for restrictions in countries such as the US, where a total prohibition would violate the Constitution’s guarantee of free speech (which tobacco transnationals have exploited to the hilt). It toughens up the requirements for graphic health warnings on packets of cigarettes; aims to stop hard sell tactics aimed at teenagers; toughens up measures against second hand smoke (which is the current big issue in New Zealand’s smoking debate); and espouses manufacturer liability. Compromise is inherent in such a massive campaign, which included those pressing for an outright ban of tobacco products (personally, I’d be happy to see the whole industry criminalised), but this treaty is a major first step. As it is, the FCTC was fought tooth and nail by the US, Japan and Germany, acting on behalf of their gigantic tobacco companies.

The campaign for the treaty was spearheaded by the international Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) and CAFCA was proud to be invited to be a member of that (although we can’t say that we did very much beyond lend moral support). The core of that coalition is the US group Infact, which celebrated the passing of the FCTC by lifting its nine year long boycott targeting Kraft Food (owned by Philip Morris, one of the very biggest and nastiest tobacco transnationals). This campaign was so effective that, this year, Philip Morris changed its name to Altria Group, because of the international negative connotations of its old name. That boycott campaign was a model of its kind and was highlighted in the award winning documentary "Making A Killing: Philip Morris, Kraft And Global Tobacco Addiction" (a copy is available for hire from CAFCA, for one week, at a cost of $10, which includes postage). We congratulate all those who have slogged their guts out to make this treaty a reality and look forward to further milestones in the international campaign against this deadliest and most addictive of industries – WHO estimates that five million people die each year of smoking-related diseases; thus 20 million died during the four years it took to negotiate the FCTC. Let’s stub it out.


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Foreign Control Watchdog, P O Box 2258, Christchurch, New Zealand/Aotearoa. August 2003.

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