The fact that Switzerland has not ratified the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) but is hosting its conference is shameful, according to a story at swissinfor.ch quoting a top WHO official.
“I think this is more of a shame than a problem that Switzerland is not party to the treaty, as this is all about protecting the public health of the population,” the head of the FCTC Secretariat, Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, reportedly told reporters at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva on Friday.
State representatives, experts and other officials are meeting in Geneva this week for the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the FCTC.
Switzerland signed the FCTC in 2004 but has not ratified it, partly due to recent changes to a draft law on tobacco products and specific issues related to advertising and sponsorship.
But it is not alone. Other countries, mainly tobacco-growing states, such as the US, Argentina, Malawi and Cuba, have not ratified the FCTC.
Da Costa e Silva said there was not enough political will in Switzerland to apply all measures in the treaty in the face of the tobacco industry present in the country.
About 180 states are set to attend COP8, followed by the first session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP1) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (October 8-10).
The second conference is due to discuss, among other issues, global, regional and national systems to track tobacco products from the production site to the initial sales site, which is due to be launched by 2023.
Shame about the venue
