International community to adopt Seoul protocol on illegal tobacco trade
Baku, November 13 (AZERTAC). Representatives of governments and the international community are set to sign a landmark agreement in Seoul this week aiming to protect public health.
The Seoul Protocol, to be adopted during the meeting of the World Health Organization`s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, will pave the way for the global community to fight against illegal trade of tobacco around the world.
Smuggling, illicit manufacturing and counterfeiting are blamed for the rise in smoking consumption particularly among young people and generating a huge fiscal loss to governments.
Illicit trade accounts for about 11.6 percent of the global cigarette market, equivalent to 657 billion cigarettes a year and a $40.5 billion loss in state revenues, according to a WHO report.
“For us, the main objective is to curb smoking but it is also good for the governments because they will also get benefits in fiscal terms. That is why there is good acceptance by the governments because it is a win-win strategy,” said Haik Nikogosian, head of the Convention Secretariat of WHO FCTC. The WHO FCTC is the first global treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization and provides a new legal dimension for international health cooperation.
Calling it “a historic event,” the protocol on eliminating illicit tobacco trade will be the first protocol to the WHO FCTC and an international treaty in itself, he added. He is currently in Seoul to host the fifth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the WHO at COEX in Seoul from Nov. 12 to 17. The COP is the central organ and governing body of the Convention and has 176 parties to date.
Other news in this section
