Framework convention on tobacco control

In May 2003, the member countries of the World Health Organisation adopted an historic tobacco control treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which has the potential to reduce the global toll of tobacco related death and ill-health.

Global burden of tobacco

Tobacco smoking kills almost five million people worldwide every year. If current trends continue it is projected to kill 10 million people a year by 2020, with 70% of those deaths occurring in developing countries. The global costs of tobacco related ill-health, both in terms of direct health care costs and indirect costs to society, are enormous and place a particularly heavy burden on countries already contending with poverty and infectious diseases.

A global public health treaty

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is a legally binding treaty which was negotiated by the 192 member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The world's first public health treaty, the FCTC contains a host of measures designed to reduce the devastating health and economic impact of tobacco. The final agreement, reached in May 2003 after nearly four years of negotiations, provides the basic tools for countries to enact comprehensive tobacco control legislation. Key provisions in the treaty encourage countries to:

Enact comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship;
Obligate the placement of rotating health warnings on tobacco packaging that cover at least 30% (but ideally 50% or more) of the principal display areas and can include pictures or pictograms;
Ban the use of misleading and deceptive terms such as 'light' and 'mild';
Protect citizens from exposure to tobacco smoke in workplaces, public transport and indoor public places;
Combat smuggling, including the placing of final destination markings on packs; and
Increase tobacco taxes

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control also contains numerous other measures designed to promote and protect public health, such as mandating the disclosure of ingredients in tobacco products, providing treatment for tobacco addiction, encouraging legal action against the tobacco industry, and promoting research and the exchange of information among countries.

An international treaty is important to tackle the global nature of the epidemic of smoking related disease, and the global nature of the industry which promotes the life-threatening habit. The treaty is uniquely valuable in tackling aspects of tobacco control that are transboundary in nature, specifically smuggling and international marketing of tobacco products.

Ratification and action

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control came into action in February 2005 with 168 countries signed up to the treaty. A number of other countries have become Parties to the treaty. The UK government ratified the treaty in December 2004.

The FCTC is legally binding on those countries which ratify the treaty and the onus will be on national governments to implement the Convention and its protocols.

For information about all aspects of the FCTC, and country-by-country progress on ratification, visit The Framework Convention Alliance website.