Historic Tobacco Control Pact Adopted

The world's first global health pact was adopted on Wednesday when more than 190 countries approved an international treaty against smoking, which includes a ban on advertising.

The World Health Assembly, the annual meeting of the World Health Organization, unanimously adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control after the US and Germany agreed to support the far-reaching treaty, clearing away the final obstacles.

Gro Harlem Brundtland, WHO's outgoing director-general, described the move as an "historic" moment.

"Today, we are acting to save billions of lives and protect people's health for generations to come," he said.

The WHO estimates that deaths from tobacco-related diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke could double in the next 20 years to 10m annually, mostly in developing countries. Poorer WHO members have been among the most fervent supporters of a tough convention.

In what anti-smoking groups described as "an astonishing departure from positions taken by the US through four years of negotiations", Tommy Thompson, US health secretary, said on Sunday that Washington would support the pact's adoption.

Washington had pressed for countries to be able to take reservations to the framework convention on tobacco control, which mandates a ban or tough controls on advertising, prominent health warnings on cigarette packets, and measures to raise prices and crack down on smuggling.

Campaigners were more than satisfied that the US had dropped its attempt to reopen the text which, they feared, could have derailed the pact by allowing countries to pick and choose parts they could support.

The US decision followed agreement by the European Union last week to adopt and ratify the convention, after Germany decided not to block a consensus among European health ministers.

Germany had objected to the treaty's provisions banning advertising because of constitutional concerns, even though the pact provides an exemption for countries whose constitutions forbid a blanket ban.

It has insisted on an additional declaration, supported by the EU, stressing that countries with constitutional constraints have a right to opt out of the advertising ban. The Berlin government argues that a blanket ban could be thrown out by Germany's constitutional court because it contravenes freedom of speech provisions.

YaleGlobal Note:

Click here for the draft text of the tobacco control agreement on the World Health Organization's website.