Global tobacco use prevalence has dropped by one-third, and there are now an estimated 118 million fewer tobacco users in the world today, as compared with 2005, said Dr Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Head of the Secretariat, on Tuesday. 

She was speaking at a WHO press conference marking the 20th anniversary of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which entered into force on 27 February, 2005. 

In other successes, : She added that, “138 countries require pictorial health warnings on tobacco products, and dozens of countries require plain packaging measures, which require a standard shape and appearance without branding design or a logo on cigarette packages. 

“Both measures reduce tobacco consumption and warn users about the dangers of tobacco. Up to 66 countries have implemented bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship in response to a tobacco industry that spent tens of billions of dollars on promoting their products and hooking new generations.”

All in all, some 5.6 billion people are covered by at least one tobacco control measure – although a full suite of measures is critical to reduce tobacco use prevalence, she stressed. 

“But while there have been great gains in tobacco control over the last two decades, there is a long way to go. 1.3 billion people are estimated to still use tobacco products globally, and tobacco use is one of the leading factors for non communicable diseases, including heart disease, stroke, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes and cancer,” she noted. 

Affecting climate, environment and sustainable development 

In addition, tobacco use affects climate, environment and sustainable development, she pointed out. 

“The economic cost of smoking, from health expenditure to productivity losses, is estimated at 1.8% of annual GDP, and most of this burden is felt in developing countries,” Marquiso said.

“The environmental burden of tobacco use must also be acknowledged. 

“Billions of cigarette butts are discarded every year into our environment, one of the largest  forms of plastic pollution in the world, and valuable resources such as agricultural land and water are wasted on growing tobacco instead of food. Production and consumption of tobacco also contributes to climate change, releasing 80 million tons of carbon dioxide in the air every year.”

Meeting new challenges in products, social media and illicit trade 

In terms of implementing the FCTC, a range of new challenges have emerged from an industry that has creatively developed new ways to sidestep Convention measures, and get smokers hooked. 

Heated tobacco products and nicotine vaping have become widely popular – and while the smoking prevalence rates contain some data on heated tobacco products, “it’s not a complete picture” said Kate Lannan, Senior Legal Affairs Officer in the FCTC Secretariat.  That’s because countries are only just now updating national surveys to include these new modes of tobacco and nicotine delivery. “So it depends on what their latest survey includes.”

At the same time, while vaping nicotine in some kind of chemical formulation remains a grey area, heated tobacco products are fully covered by the Convention, Lannan said. 

“”They are tobacco products. The implementation of the Convention should also cover heated tobacco products to the same extent as all other tobacco products, which means surveillance, monitoring, etc.”

Another challenge is new media.  While facing strict curbs on traditional advertising modes, like TV, billboards, and packaging, it has developed a strong presence in social media forms – which has proven much harder to regulate. 

New guidelines on social media 

Just last year, the FCTC Conference of Parties (COP 10) adopted new “guidelines” on Article 13 of the Convention, which addressed tobacco advertising, to address social media, entertainment platforms, cross border streaming services, and media influencers “who are able to reach our young people in a way that simply wasn’t envisioned at the time of the entry into force of the Framework Convention,” Lannan said, adding, “These specific guidelines are sort of activating the convention in a new way to specifically address those issues.” 

Marquiso called on more FCTC member states to follow the guidelines for developing more comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, including “social media advertising and sponsorship deals.”

Finally, while many countries have raised taxes on tobacco products sharply, cross-border trade in cheaper illicit products has flourished in many regions and countries of the world.  

In 2012 the Protocol to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products, was adopted by member states, although work to advance enforcement is still ongoing today, Marquiso noted.  

“This work addresses the threat posed by the illicit trade of tobacco, which undermines control measures, diminishes tax revenues and fuels criminal activities.” 

Finishing outstanding business 

Marquiso also called upon WHO member states, who have not done so yet, to implement bans on smoking in indoor places. 

“Smoke-free laws have been enacted covering more than a quarter of the world population, protecting people from the dangers. “This has proven itself to be one of the most cost effective tools at reducing consumption, and we call on more countries to implement these measures,” she said. 

She described political will and interference from the tobacco industry as the biggest single barrier to better implementation and enforcement of the FCTC.

“We have a lot of requests from countries to help them technically in implementing measures. 

“But I think the most important thing that countries will need to do in order to be able to implement the treaty is to be aware of the interference of the tobacco industry. 

“We need more political will. And it’s not an easy moment, given the geopolitical situation in this moment in the world.  And we need more awareness of the interference of the industry and how to stop that interference.” 

Image Credits: WHO, WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, bacco Report, 2021 , Josephine Chinele, pixabay.