Tobacco Control: New resources, existing treaties, and emerging challenges |

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on global cigarette consumption is an international treaty adopted in 2003 that aims to reduce harmful tobacco consumption.

Despite being legally-binding on 181 countries, recent research (and the accompanying podcast, above) suggests that it has had little impact on changing global smoking rates.

Timeline of major events in the creation, negotiation, adoption, and ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

The study showed no significant change in the rate at which global cigarette consumption had been decreasing after the FCTC’s adoption in 2003, using either ITS or event modelling (above). I did like the author’s proposed mind-map of how legislation should have worked (below).

Logic model for conceptualising the impact of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on tobacco consumption.

SUMMARY: They found no evidence that global progress in reducing cigarette consumption had been accelerated by the FCTC treaty mechanism., and cautioned against complacency in the global tobacco control community.

Featured Image by Irina Iriser on Unsplash