Submission of the President of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to the thematic review of the 2021 United Nations High-level Political Forum

Introduction

The objective of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke.

In force since 2005 and comprising 182 Parties, the Convention reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health. It provides a framework for tobacco control measures to be implemented by Parties – at the national, regional and international levels.

The WHO FCTC also is an accelerator for sustainable development, and as such its implementation has been included as a means of progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 3.4, which calls for a one-third reduction in premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and SDG Target 3.a, which calls for 30% decrease in tobacco use by 15 years and older.(a) Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the SDGs under review in the 2021 HLPF from the vantage point of your intergovernmental body, bearing in mind the interlinkages with other SDGs.

The focus of governments on the COVID-19 pandemic has often hindered the implementation of the WHO FCTC, but in a handful of countries the attention to some tobacco control measures has increased because of the pandemic. Therefore, the tobacco-related SDGs may have been impacted in different ways...(see complete submission in "Document")

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Submission of the President of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products to the thematic review of the 2021 United Nations High-level Political Forum

Introduction

The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is the first protocol and innovative international treaty to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). Its objective is the elimination of all forms of illicit trade in tobacco products by fostering the progressive adoption and implementation of different legislative, executive, administrative (I.A.) measures to be taken by countries acting in cooperation with one another. The Protocol was negotiated by the Parties to the WHO FCTC over several years, and it entered into force on 25 September 2018. It currently comprises 62 Parties.

As countries cautiously move to the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, implementation of the Protocol should be included in recovery plans, considering that the control of the illicit trade in tobacco products can increase government revenues in a moment when resources are sorely needed, while at the same time reducing tobacco consumption and saving lives...(see complete submission in "Document")