FCTC Secretariat Concerned Tobacco Control Measures Being Pushed Aside

In a recent interview by the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) with Dr Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Head of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Secretariat, Dr Blanco expressed her concerns with the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the progression of the FCTC and its Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. She further stressed the importance of civil organisations in helping parties to implement FCTC provisions at national, regional and global level.

In particular, Dr Blanco stated that ‘the first and biggest challenge that we have faced was the need to postpone until next year the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the FCTC and the Second Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP2) to the Protocol. This is especially challenging in the case of MOP2 as many decisions need to be taken in order to continue work developing the basic infrastructure required by the Protocol’.