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The WHO Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)
The FCTC is the first
international treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health
Organization (WHO), aimed at curbing tobacco-related deaths and disease.
The FCTC was unanimously adopted
by 192 nations at the World Health Assembly (WHA) on 21st May 2003. Among its
many tobacco control measures, the FCTC requires countries to impose
restrictions on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, establish new
packaging and labeling of tobacco products with strong health warnings,
establish clean indoor air controls by imposing restrictions on smoking in
public places and strengthening legislation to clamp down on illicit trade in
tobacco products.
As a result of continual and
vibrant advocacy strategy of WR-India office, successive Health Ministers and
officials of the Ministry of health have been duly sensitized to the dangers
of the epidemic. The result is a strong and bold government strategy for
tobacco control. Nowhere is it more evident than in India’s strong leadership, as a
regional coordinator for the SEAR countries in the FCTC.
In a historic leap towards
promoting public health, the Govt. of India ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
(FCTC) on 5 February 2004. India
was the seventh country to ratify the convention. This exhibits a strong
commitment to tobacco control, in light of the fact that India is a major tobacco
consuming and producing nation. So far, 168 countries have signed the
Convention on tobacco control and 112 countries have ratified.
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