WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (Geneva, 21 May 2003)
(Signatories: 168; Parties: 181)
WHO-FCTC treaty, adopted by the 56th World Health Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2003. The treaty came into force on 27 February 2005.
The agreement seeks “to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke” by enacting a set of universal standards stating the dangers of tobacco and limiting its use in all forms worldwide.
The treaty’s provisions include the rules that govern the production, sale, distribution, advertisement, and taxation of tobacco. FCTC standards are, however, minimum requirements, and signatories are encouraged to be even more stringent in regulating tobacco than the treaty requires them to be.
India was one of the founding members of the treaty and signed this convention on 10 Sept, 2003 and later ratified on 5 Feb, 2004.
In 2012, a supplementary Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products to the Convention was concluded in Seoul, South Korea. The Protocol will enter into force after it has been ratified by 40 states that have ratified the Convention. In July 2017, there are 28 signatures.
