Third Conference of the Parties (COP3)
Strong Article 5.3 Guidelines Needed at COP3
Tobacco industry interference poses the single greatest threat to tobacco control. Tobacco transnationals like Philip Morris International (PMI), British American Tobacco (BAT) and Japan Tobacco (JT) have used their political influence to water down or defeat tobacco control legislation in countries around the globe.
While Big Tobacco claims to be a “stakeholder” in public health, this industry has a fundamental conflict of interest with the aims and objectives of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). There is an overwhelming consensus among health advocates and public officials that the tobacco industry should have no influence over public health policies. The FCTC, in Article 5.3, enshrines this concept in international law.
In July 2007, at the second implementation and enforcement meeting on the FCTC, Parties took the courageous step of initiating the development of guidelines on Article 5.3 of the treaty. Now, guidelines on Article 5.3 are urgently needed. Strong and effective guidelines that reinforce Parties’ legal obligations under Article 5.3 will help anticipate and thwart attempts by the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry to undermine the implementation of the treaty. They should be adopted, in the strongest possible form, by the 3rd Conference of the Parties to the FCTC (COP3) in Durban, South Africa, from November 17-22, 2008.
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For case studies of tobacco industry interference in health policy, and tools for countering it, see Protecting Against Tobacco Industry Interference: The 2008 Global Tobacco Treaty Action Guide, online here.
To visit the official Framework Convention on Tobacco Control website, click here.
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