I 192 paesi membri della WHO,
World Health Organization, l’organizzazione mondiale della sanità, hanno
approvato a Ginevra il primo trattato internazionale per la lotta al
fumo.
Il documento, denominato
“Framework convention on tabacco control” (convenzione quadro sul controllo del
tabacco) è sorto dopo quattro anni di trattative tra i diversi Stati, che hanno
portato nello scorso marzo alla stesura dei vari articoli e nei scorsi giorni
alla loro approvazione unanime.
Inizialmente contro la convenzione
si erano schierati gli Stati Uniti, che, nonostante abbiano adottato misure
restrittive sul consumo tra le più severe al mondo, hanno sempre lasciato ampio
margine operativo ai produttori. Caduta l’opposizione americana c’è stato il via
libera per il primo accordo globale anti-fumo, che entrerà in vigore non appena
verrà ratificato da quaranta paesi membri. Gli Stati membri avranno poi novanta
giorni di tempo per dare seguito alle raccomandazioni con atti
concreti.
La convenzione si compone di
trentotto articoli, molti dei quali già vigenti in Italia tramite una
legislazione ad hoc di qualche anno fa, ma inspiegabilmente mai rispettati.
Probabilmente la situazione muterà nei prossimi mesi quando, entrato in vigore
il documento del WHO, sarà limitata rigidamente la pubblicità del tabacco, sia
essa diretta che indiretta, saranno vietate per cinque anni le sponsorizzazioni
da parte dei produttori di tabacco e verrà contrastata la diffusione di messaggi
pro-fumo.
Nel documento, inoltre, sono state
introdotte una serie di indicazioni per i produttori e per gli Stati contraenti.
Viene stabilito, infatti, che almeno il trenta per cento della superficie dei
pacchetti di sigarette dovranno contenere scritte di avvertimento sui danni
provocati dal fumo; dovranno scomparire tutte quelle scritte, quali mild,light ed extralight, che inducono il consumatore
a ritenere certe sigarette meno pericolose di altre; dovranno essere elencate
tutte le sostanze dannose per la salute umana e le informazioni sugli effetti
nocivi del fumo dovranno essere «chiare, leggibili e visibili»; sarà inoltre
caricato di forti significati il concetto di responsabilità legale dei
produttori di tabacco.
I singoli paesi dovranno
continuare nella guerra al contrabbando, dovranno aumentare le imposte sul
consumo di tabacco per combattere il tabagismo,dovranno attuare programmi di
lotta al fumo e dovranno divulgare il messaggio dell’organizzazione mondiale
soprattutto nelle fasce d’età più giovani (per questo motivo sono state messe al
bando anche la fabbrica di dolci o giocattoli a forma di sigarette).
Tutto queste misure dovranno
essere prese entro cinque anni dall’entrata in vigore del Trattato, che senza
dubbio avrà luogo nel mese di giugno, quando i Capi di Stato, i Primi Ministri o
i Ministri degli Esteri dei singoli Stati saranno chiamati ad apporre la loro
firma.
La convenzione avrà notevole
impatto nei paesi del Terzo Mondo, in cui le politiche anti-fumo sono
praticamente inesistenti e dove in certi casi sono le stesse autorità ad
incoraggiare le industrie produttrici ad investire nel
tabacco.
Scopo del documento della WHO,
secondo quanto sostenuto dalla propria direttrice, Gro Harem Brundtland, è
salvare milioni di vite e proteggere la salute delle prossime generazioni.
Secondo i dati della stessa agenzia mondiale, senza politiche di contrasto il
fumo potrebbe raddoppiare in venti anni le sue vittime, da cinque a dieci
milioni. Il settanta per cento sarebbero cittadini dei Paesi in via di sviluppo.
Segue la versione originale in
lingua inglese della convenzione:
PART I:
INTRODUCTION
Article 1
Use of terms
For the purposes of this
Convention:
(a) “illicit trade” means any practice or conduct
prohibited by law and which relates to
production, shipment, receipt, possession,
distribution, sale or purchase including any
practice
or conduct intended to facilitate such
activity;
(b) “regional economic integration organization” means
an organization that is composed of
several sovereign states, and to which its Member
States have transferred competence over a
range of matters, including the authority to make
decisions binding on its Member States in
respect
of those matters;1
(c) “tobacco advertising and promotion” means any form
of commercial communication,
recommendation or action with the aim, effect or
likely effect of promoting a tobacco product
or
tobacco use either directly or
indirectly;
(d) “tobacco control” means a range of supply, demand
and harm reduction strategies that
aim to improve the health of a population by
eliminating or reducing their consumption of
tobacco products and exposure to tobacco
smoke;
(e) “tobacco industry” means tobacco manufacturers,
wholesale distributors and importers of
tobacco products;
(f) “tobacco products” means products entirely or
partly made of the leaf tobacco as raw
material which are manufactured to be used for
smoking, sucking, chewing or snuffing;
(g) “tobacco sponsorship” means any form of
contribution to any event, activity or
individual
with the aim, effect or likely effect of promoting a
tobacco product or tobacco use either
directly
or indirectly;
Article 2
Relationship between this Convention and other
agreements and legal instruments
1. In order to better protect human health, Parties
are encouraged to implement measures beyond
those required by this Convention and its protocols,
and nothing in these instruments shall prevent
a
Party from imposing stricter requirements that are
consistent with their provisions and are in
accordance with international
law.
2. The provisions of the Convention and its protocols
shall in no way affect the right of Parties
to
enter into bilateral or multilateral agreements,
including regional or subregional agreements, on
issues
relevant or additional to the Convention and its
protocols, provided that such agreements are
compatible with their obligations under the Convention
and its protocols. The Parties concerned
shall
communicate such agreements to the Conference of the
Parties through the Secretariat.
1
Where
appropriate, national will refer equally to regional economic integration
organizations.
PART II: OBJECTIVE, GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND GENERAL
OBLIGATIONS
Article 3
Objective
The objective of this Convention and its protocols is
to protect present and future generations
from the devastating health, social, environmental and
economic consequences of tobacco
consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke by providing
a framework for tobacco control measures
to be implemented by the Parties at the national,
regional and international levels in order to
reduce
continually and substantially the prevalence of
tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke.
Article 4
Guiding
principles
To achieve the objective of this Convention and its
protocols and to implement its provisions,
the
Parties shall be guided, inter
alia,
by the principles set out below:
1. Every person should be informed of the health
consequences, addictive nature and mortal
threat
posed by tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco
smoke and effective legislative, executive,
administrative or other measures should be
contemplated at the appropriate governmental level
to
protect all persons from exposure to tobacco
smoke.
2. Strong political commitment is necessary to develop
and support, at the national, regional and
international levels, comprehensive multisectoral
measures and coordinated responses, taking
into
consideration:
(a) the need to take measures to protect all persons
from exposure to tobacco smoke;
(b) the need to take measures to prevent the
initiation, to promote and support cessation,
and
to decrease the consumption of tobacco products in any
form;
(c) the need to take measures to promote the
participation of indigenous individuals and
communities in the development, implementation and
evaluation of tobacco control
programmes that are socially and culturally
appropriate to their needs and perspectives;
and
(d) the need to take measures to address
gender-specific risks when developing
tobacco
control
strategies.
3. International cooperation, particularly transfer of
technology, knowledge and financial
assistance and provision of related expertise, to
establish and implement effective tobacco
control
programmes, taking into consideration local culture,
as well as social, economic, political and
legal
factors, is an important part of the
Convention.
4. Comprehensive multisectoral measures and responses
to reduce consumption of all tobacco
products at the national, regional and international
levels are essential so as to prevent, in
accordance
with public health principles, the incidence of
diseases, premature disability and mortality due
to
tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco
smoke.
5. Issues relating to liability, as determined by each
Party within its jurisdiction, are an
important
part of comprehensive tobacco
control.
6. The importance of technical and financial
assistance to aid the economic transition of
tobacco
growers and workers whose livelihoods are seriously
affected as a consequence of tobacco control
programmes in developing country Parties, as well as
Parties with economies in transition, should
be
recognized and addressed in the context of nationally
developed strategies for sustainable
development.
7. The participation of civil society is essential in
achieving the objective of the Convention and
its
protocols.
Article 5
General
obligations
1. Each Party shall develop, implement, periodically
update and review comprehensive
multisectoral national tobacco control strategies,
plans and programmes in accordance with this
Convention and the protocols to which it is a
Party.
2. Towards this end, each Party shall, in accordance
with its capabilities:
(a) establish or reinforce and finance a national
coordinating mechanism or focal points for
tobacco control;
and
(b) adopt and implement effective legislative,
executive, administrative and/or other
measures and cooperate, as appropriate, with other
Parties in developing appropriate policies
for
preventing and reducing tobacco consumption, nicotine
addiction and exposure to tobacco
smoke.
3. In setting and implementing their public health
policies with respect to tobacco control,
Parties
shall act to protect these policies from commercial
and other vested interests of the tobacco industry
in
accordance with national
law.
4. The Parties shall cooperate in the formulation of
proposed measures, procedures and guidelines
for the implementation of the Convention and the
protocols to which they are Parties.
5. The Parties shall cooperate, as appropriate, with
competent international and regional
intergovernmental organizations and other bodies to
achieve the objectives of the Convention and
the
protocols to which they are
Parties.
6. The Parties shall, within means and resources at
their disposal, cooperate to raise financial
resources for effective implementation of the
Convention through bilateral and multilateral
funding
mechanisms.
PART III: MEASURES RELATING TO THE
REDUCTION
OF DEMAND FOR
TOBACCO
Article 6
Price and tax measures to reduce the demand for
tobacco
1. The Parties recognize that price and tax measures
are an effective and important means of
reducing tobacco consumption by various segments of
the population, in particular young persons.
2. Without prejudice to the sovereign right of the
Parties to determine and establish their
taxation
policies, each Party should take account of its
national health objectives concerning tobacco
control
and adopt or maintain, as appropriate, measures which
may include:
(a) implementing tax policies and, where appropriate,
price policies, on tobacco products so
as to contribute to the health objectives aimed at
reducing tobacco consumption; and
(b) prohibiting or restricting, as appropriate, sales
to and/or importations by international
travellers of tax- and duty-free tobacco
products.
3. The Parties shall provide rates of taxation for
tobacco products and trends in tobacco
consumption in their periodic reports to the
Conference of the Parties, in accordance with Article
21.
Article 7
Non-price measures to reduce the demand for
tobacco
The Parties recognize that comprehensive non-price
measures are an effective and important
means of reducing tobacco consumption. Each Party
shall adopt and implement effective
legislative,
executive, administrative or other measures necessary
to implement its obligations pursuant to
Articles 8 to 13 and shall cooperate, as appropriate,
with each other directly or through
competent
international bodies with a view to their
implementation. The Conference of the Parties shall
propose
appropriate guidelines for the implementation of the
provisions of these Articles.
Article 8
Protection from exposure to tobacco
smoke
1. Parties recognize that scientific evidence has
unequivocally established that exposure to
tobacco
smoke causes death, disease and
disability.
2. Each Party shall adopt and implement in areas of
existing national jurisdiction as determined
by
national law and actively promote at other
jurisdictional levels the adoption and implementation
of
effective legislative, executive, administrative
and/or other measures, providing for protection
from
exposure to tobacco smoke in indoor workplaces, public
transport, indoor public places and, as
appropriate, other public
places.
Article 9
Regulation of the contents of tobacco
products
The Conference of the Parties, in consultation with
competent international bodies, shall
propose guidelines for testing and measuring the
contents and emissions of tobacco products, and
for
the regulation of these contents and emissions. Each
Party shall, where approved by competent
national authorities, adopt and implement effective
legislative, executive and administrative or
other
measures for such testing and measuring, and for such
regulation.
Article 10
Regulation of tobacco product
disclosures
Each Party shall, in accordance with its national law,
adopt and implement effective legislative,
executive, administrative or other measures requiring
manufacturers and importers of tobacco
products
to disclose to governmental authorities information
about the contents and emissions of tobacco
products. Each Party shall further adopt and implement
effective measures for public disclosure of
information about the toxic constituents of the
tobacco products and the emissions that they
may
produce.
Article 11
Packaging and labelling of tobacco
products
1. Each Party shall, within a period of three years
after entry into force of this Convention for
that
Party, adopt and implement, in accordance with its
national law, effective measures to ensure
that:
(a) tobacco product packaging and labelling do not
promote a tobacco product by any means
that are false, misleading, deceptive or likely to
create an erroneous impression about its
characteristics, health effects, hazards or emissions,
including any term, descriptor, trademark,
figurative or any other sign that directly or
indirectly creates the false impression that
a
particular tobacco product is less harmful than other
tobacco products. These may include terms
such as “low tar”, “light”, “ultra-light”, or “mild”;
and
(b) each unit packet and package of tobacco products
and any outside packaging and
labelling of such products also carry health warnings
describing the harmful effects of tobacco
use, and may include other appropriate messages. These
warnings and messages:
(i) shall be approved by the competent national
authority,
(ii) shall be
rotating,
(iii) shall be large, clear, visible and
legible,
(iv) should be 50% or more of the principal display
areas but shall be no less than 30%
of the principal display
areas,
(v) may be in the form of or include pictures or
pictograms.
2. Each unit packet and package of tobacco products
and any outside packaging and labelling of
such products shall, in addition to the warnings
specified in paragraph 1(b) of this Article,
contain
information on relevant constituents and emissions of
tobacco products as defined by national
authorities.
3. Each Party shall require that the warnings and
other textual information specified in
paragraphs 1(b) and paragraph 2 of this Article will
appear on each unit packet and package of
tobacco
products and any outside packaging and labelling of
such products in its principal language or
languages.
4. For the purposes of this Article, the term “outside
packaging and labelling” in relation to
tobacco products applies to any packaging and
labelling used in the retail sale of the
product.
Article 12
Education, communication, training and public
awareness
Each Party shall promote and strengthen public
awareness of tobacco control issues, using
all
available communication tools, as appropriate. Towards
this end, each Party shall adopt and
implement effective legislative, executive,
administrative or other measures to promote:
(a) broad access to effective and comprehensive
educational and public awareness
programmes on the health risks including the addictive
characteristics of tobacco consumption
and exposure to tobacco
smoke;
(b) public awareness about the health risks of tobacco
consumption and exposure to tobacco
smoke, and about the benefits of the cessation of
tobacco use and tobacco-free lifestyles as
specified in Article
14.2;
(c) public access, in accordance with national law, to
a wide range of information on the
tobacco industry as relevant to the objective of this
Convention;
(d) effective and appropriate training or
sensitization and awareness programmes on
tobacco
control addressed to persons such as health workers,
community workers, social workers, media
professionals, educators, decision-makers,
administrators and other concerned persons;
(e) awareness and participation of public and private
agencies and nongovernmental
organizations not affiliated with the tobacco industry
in developing and implementing
intersectoral programmes and strategies for tobacco
control; and
(f) public awareness of and access to information
regarding the adverse health, economic,
and environmental consequences of tobacco production
and consumption.
Article 13
Tobacco advertising, promotion and
sponsorship
1. Parties recognize that a comprehensive ban on
advertising, promotion and sponsorship would
reduce
the consumption of tobacco products.
2. Each Party shall, in accordance with its
constitution or constitutional principles, undertake
a
comprehensive ban of all tobacco advertising,
promotion and sponsorship. This shall include,
subject
to the legal environment and technical means available
to that Party, a comprehensive ban on
crossborder
advertising, promotion and sponsorship originating
from its territory. In this respect, within
the
period of five years after entry into force of this
Convention for that Party, each Party shall
undertake
appropriate legislative, executive, administrative
and/or other measures and report accordingly
in
conformity with Article
21.
3. A Party that is not in a position to undertake a
comprehensive ban due to its constitution or
constitutional principles shall apply restrictions on
all tobacco advertising, promotion and
sponsorship.
This shall include, subject to the legal environment
and technical means available to that Party,
restrictions or a comprehensive ban on advertising,
promotion and sponsorship originating from
its
territory with cross-border effects. In this respect,
each Party shall undertake appropriate
legislative,
executive, administrative and/or other measures and
report accordingly in conformity with Article
21.
4. As a minimum, and in accordance with its
constitution or constitutional principles, each
Party
shall:
(a) prohibit all forms of tobacco advertising,
promotion and sponsorship that promote a
tobacco product by any means that are false,
misleading or deceptive or likely to create
an
erroneous impression about its characteristics, health
effects, hazards or emissions;
(b) require that health or other appropriate warnings
or messages accompany all tobacco
advertising and, as appropriate, promotion and
sponsorship;
(c) restrict the use of direct or indirect incentives
that encourage the purchase of tobacco
products by the
public;
(d) require, if it does not have a comprehensive ban,
the disclosure to relevant governmental
authorities of expenditures by the tobacco industry on
advertising, promotion and sponsorship
not yet prohibited. Those authorities may decide to
make those figures available, subject to
national law, to the public and to the Conference of
the Parties, pursuant to Article 21;
(e) undertake a comprehensive ban or, in the case of a
Party that is not in a position to
undertake a comprehensive ban due to its constitution
or constitutional principles, restrict
tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship on
radio, television, print media and, as
appropriate, other media, such as the internet, within
a period of five years; and
(f) prohibit, or in the case of a Party that is not in
a position to prohibit due to its
constitution
or constitutional principles restrict, tobacco
sponsorship of international events, activities
and/or
participants
therein.
5. Parties are encouraged to implement measures beyond
the obligations set out in paragraph 4.
6. Parties shall cooperate in the development of
technologies and other means necessary to
facilitate the elimination of cross-border
advertising.
7. Parties which have a ban on certain forms of
tobacco advertising, promotion and
sponsorship
have the sovereign right to ban those forms of
cross-border tobacco advertising, promotion
and
sponsorship entering their territory and to impose
equal penalties as those applicable to
domestic
advertising, promotion and sponsorship originating
from their territory in accordance with
their
national law. This paragraph does not endorse or
approve of any particular penalty.
8. Parties shall consider the elaboration of a
protocol setting out appropriate measures that
require
international collaboration for a comprehensive ban on
cross-border advertising, promotion and
sponsorship.
Demand reduction measures concerning tobacco
dependence and cessation
1. Each Party shall develop and disseminate
appropriate, comprehensive and integrated
guidelines
based on scientific evidence and best practices,
taking into account national circumstances
and
priorities, and shall take effective measures to
promote cessation of tobacco use and
adequate
treatment for tobacco
dependence.
2. Towards this end, each Party shall endeavour
to:
(a) design and implement effective programmes aimed at
promoting the cessation of tobacco
use, in such locations as educational institutions,
health care facilities, workplaces and
sporting
environments;
(b) include diagnosis and treatment of tobacco
dependence and counselling services on
cessation of tobacco use in national health and
education programmes, plans and strategies,
with
the participation of health workers, community workers
and social workers as appropriate;
(c) establish in health care facilities and
rehabilitation centres programmes for
diagnosing,
counselling, preventing and treating tobacco
dependence; and
(d) collaborate with other Parties to facilitate
accessibility and affordability for treatment
of
tobacco dependence including pharmaceutical products
pursuant to Article 22. Such products
and their constituents may include medicines, products
used to administer medicines and
diagnostics when
appropriate.
PART IV: MEASURES RELATING TO THE
REDUCTION
OF THE SUPPLY OF
TOBACCO
Article 15
Illicit
trade in tobacco products1
1. The Parties recognize that the elimination of all
forms of illicit trade in tobacco products,
including smuggling, illicit manufacturing and
counterfeiting, and the development and
implementation of related national law, in addition to
subregional, regional and global agreements,
are
essential components of tobacco
control.
2. Each Party shall adopt and implement effective
legislative, executive, administrative or
other
measures to ensure that all unit packets and packages
of tobacco products and any outside
packaging
of such products are marked to assist Parties in
determining the origin of tobacco products, and
in
accordance with national law and relevant bilateral or
multilateral agreements, assist Parties in
determining the point of diversion and monitor,
document and control the movement of tobacco
products and their legal status. In addition, each
Party shall:
(a) require that unit packets and packages of tobacco
products for retail and wholesale use
that
are sold on its domestic market carry the statement: “Sales
only allowed in (insert name of
the
country, subnational, regional or federal unit)” or
carry any other effective marking
indicating the final destination or which would assist
authorities in determining whether the
product is legally for sale on the domestic market;
and
(b) consider, as appropriate, developing a practical
tracking and tracing regime that would
further secure the distribution system and assist in
the investigation of illicit trade.
1
There
has been considerable discussion throughout the pre-negotiation and negotiation
process concerning the
adoption of an early protocol on illicit trade in
tobacco products. The negotiation of such a protocol could be initiated by
the
INB immediately following the adoption of the FCTC, or
at a later stage by the Conference of the
Parties.
3. Each Party shall require that the packaging
information or marking specified in paragraph 2
of
this Article shall be presented in legible form and/or
appear in its principal language or
languages.
4. With a view to eliminating illicit trade in tobacco
products, each Party shall:
(a) monitor and collect data on cross-border trade in
tobacco products, including illicit trade,
and exchange information among customs, tax and other
authorities, as appropriate, and in
accordance with national law and relevant applicable
bilateral or multilateral agreements;
(b) enact or strengthen legislation, with appropriate
penalties and remedies, against illicit
trade in tobacco products, including counterfeit and
contraband cigarettes;
(c) take appropriate steps to ensure that all
confiscated manufacturing equipment,
counterfeit
and contraband cigarettes and other tobacco products
are destroyed, using environmentallyfriendly
methods where feasible, or disposed of in accordance
with national law;
(d) adopt and implement measures to monitor, document
and control the storage and
distribution of tobacco products held or moving under
suspension of taxes or duties within its
jurisdiction; and
(e) adopt measures as appropriate to enable the
confiscation of proceeds derived from the
illicit trade in tobacco
products.
5. Information collected pursuant to subparagraphs
4(a) and 4(d) of this Article shall, as
appropriate, be provided in aggregate form by the
Parties in their periodic reports to the Conference
of
the Parties, in accordance with Article
21.
6. The Parties shall, as appropriate and in accordance
with national law, promote cooperation
between national agencies, as well as relevant
regional and international intergovernmental
organizations as it relates to investigations,
prosecutions and proceedings, with a view to
eliminating
illicit trade in tobacco products. Special emphasis
shall be placed on cooperation at regional
and
subregional levels to combat illicit trade of tobacco
products.
7. Each Party shall endeavour to adopt and implement
further measures including licensing, where
appropriate, to control or regulate the production and
distribution of tobacco products in order to
prevent illicit
trade.
Article 16
Sales to and by
minors
1. Each Party shall adopt and implement effective
legislative, executive, administrative or
other
measures at the appropriate government level to
prohibit the sales of tobacco products to
persons
under the age set by domestic law, national law or
eighteen. These measures may include:
(a) requiring that all sellers of tobacco products
place a clear and prominent indicator inside
their point of sale about the prohibition of tobacco
sales to minors and, in case of doubt,
request
that each tobacco purchaser provide appropriate
evidence of having reached full legal age;
(b) banning the sale of tobacco products in any manner
by which they are directly accessible,
such as store
shelves;
(c) prohibiting the manufacture and sale of sweets,
snacks, toys or any other objects in the
form of tobacco products which appeal to minors;
and
(d) ensuring that tobacco vending machines under its
jurisdiction are not accessible to minors
and do not promote the sale of tobacco products to
minors.
2. Each Party shall prohibit or promote the
prohibition of the distribution of free tobacco
products
to the public and especially
minors.
3. Each Party shall endeavour to prohibit the sale of
cigarettes individually or in small packets
which increase the affordability of such products to
minors.
4. The Parties recognize that in order to increase
their effectiveness, measures to prevent
tobacco
product sales to minors should, where appropriate, be
implemented in conjunction with other
provisions contained in this
Convention.
5. When signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or
acceding to the Convention or at any time
thereafter, a Party may, by means of a binding written
declaration, indicate its commitment to
prohibit
the introduction of tobacco vending machines within
its jurisdiction or, as appropriate, to a total
ban
on tobacco vending machines. The declaration made
pursuant to this Article shall be circulated by
the
Depositary to all Parties to the
Convention.
6. Each Party shall adopt and implement effective
legislative, executive, administrative or
other
measures, including penalties against sellers and
distributors, in order to ensure compliance with
the
obligations contained in paragraphs 1-5 of this
Article.
7. Each Party should, as appropriate, adopt and
implement effective legislative, executive,
administrative or other measures to prohibit the sales
of tobacco products by persons under the age
set
by domestic law, national law or
eighteen.
Article 17
Provision of support for economically viable
alternative activities
Parties shall, in cooperation with each other and with
competent international and regional
intergovernmental organizations, promote, as
appropriate, economically viable alternatives for
tobacco
workers, growers and, as the case may be, individual
sellers.
PART V: PROTECTION OF THE
ENVIRONMENT
Article 18
Protection of the environment and the health of
persons
In carrying out their obligations under this
Convention, the Parties agree to have due regard
to
the protection of the environment and the health of
persons in relation to the environment in respect
of
tobacco cultivation and manufacture within their
respective territories.
PART VI: QUESTIONS RELATED TO
LIABILITY
Article 19
Liability
1. For the purpose of tobacco control, the Parties
shall consider taking legislative action or
promoting their existing laws, where necessary, to
deal with criminal and civil liability,
including
compensation where
appropriate.
2. Parties shall cooperate with each other in
exchanging information through the Conference of
the
Parties in accordance with Article 21
including:
(a) information on the health effects of the
consumption of tobacco products and exposure
to
tobacco smoke in accordance with Article 20.3(a);
and
(b) information on legislation and regulations in
force as well as pertinent jurisprudence.
3. The Parties shall, as appropriate and mutually
agreed, within the limits of national
legislation,
policies, legal practices and applicable existing
treaty arrangements, afford one another assistance
in
legal proceedings relating to civil and criminal
liability consistent with this Convention.
4. The Convention shall in no way affect or limit any
rights of access of the Parties to each
other’s
courts where such rights
exist.
5. The Conference of the Parties may consider, if
possible, at an early stage, taking account of
the
work being done in relevant international fora, issues
related to liability including appropriate
international approaches to these issues and
appropriate means to support, upon request, the Parties
in
their legislative and other activities in accordance
with this Article.
PART VII: SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COOPERATION
AND
COMMUNICATION OF
INFORMATION
Article 20
Research, surveillance and exchange of
information
1. The Parties undertake to develop and promote
national research and to coordinate research
programmes at the regional and international levels in
the field of tobacco control. Towards this
end,
each Party shall:
(a) initiate and cooperate in, directly or through
competent international and regional
intergovernmental organizations and other bodies, the
conduct of research and scientific
assessments, and in so doing promote and encourage
research that addresses the determinants
and consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure
to tobacco smoke as well as research
for identification of alternative crops;
and
(b) promote and strengthen, with the support of
competent international and regional
intergovernmental organizations and other bodies,
training and support for all those engaged
in
tobacco control activities, including research,
implementation and evaluation.
2. The Parties shall establish, as appropriate,
programmes for national, regional and global
surveillance of the magnitude, patterns, determinants
and consequences of tobacco consumption and
exposure to tobacco smoke. Towards this end, the
Parties should integrate tobacco
surveillance
programmes into national, regional and global health
surveillance programmes so that data are
comparable and can be analysed at the regional and
international levels, as appropriate.
3. Parties recognize the importance of financial and
technical assistance from international and
regional intergovernmental organizations and other
bodies. Each Party shall endeavour to:
(a) establish progressively a national system for the
epidemiological surveillance of tobacco
consumption and related social, economic and health
indicators;
(b) cooperate with competent international and
regional intergovernmental organizations and
other bodies, including governmental and
nongovernmental agencies, in regional and
global
tobacco surveillance and exchange of information on
the indicators specified in paragraph 3(a)
of this Article;
and
(c) cooperate with the World Health Organization in
the development of general guidelines
or procedures for defining the collection, analysis
and dissemination of tobacco-related
surveillance data.
4. The Parties shall, subject to national law, promote
and facilitate the exchange of publicly
available scientific, technical, socioeconomic,
commercial and legal information, as well as
information regarding practices of the tobacco
industry and the cultivation of tobacco, which
is
relevant to this Convention, and in so doing shall
take into account and address the special needs
of
developing country Parties and Parties with economies
in transition. Each Party shall endeavour
to:
(a) progressively establish and maintain an updated
database of laws and regulations on
tobacco control and, as appropriate, information about
their enforcement, as well as pertinent
jurisprudence, and cooperate in the development of
programmes for regional and global tobacco
control;
(b) progressively establish and maintain updated data
from national surveillance programmes
in accordance with paragraph 3(a) of this Article;
and
(c) cooperate with competent international
organizations to progressively establish and
maintain a global system to regularly collect and
disseminate information on tobacco
production, manufacture and the activities of the
tobacco industry which have an impact on the
Convention or national tobacco control
activities.
5. Parties should cooperate in regional and
international intergovernmental organizations
and
financial and development institutions of which they
are members, to promote and encourage
provision of technical and financial resources to the
Secretariat to assist developing country
Parties
and Parties with economies in transition to meet their
commitments on research, surveillance and
exchange of
information.
Article 21
Reporting and exchange of
information
1. Each Party shall submit to the Conference of the
Parties, through the Secretariat, periodic
reports on its implementation of this Convention,
which should include the following:
(a) information on legislative, executive,
administrative or other measures taken to
implement the
Convention;
(b) information, as appropriate, on any constraints or
barriers encountered in its
implementation of the Convention, and on the measures
taken to overcome these barriers;
(c) information, as appropriate, on financial and
technical assistance provided or received
for
tobacco control
activities;
(d) information on surveillance and research as
specified in Article 20; and
(e) information specified in Articles 6.3, 13.2, 13.3,
13.4(d), 15.5 and 19.2.
2. The frequency and format of such reports by all
Parties shall be determined by the
Conference
of the Parties. Each Party shall make its initial
report within two years of the entry into force of
the
Convention for that
Party.
3. The Conference of the Parties, pursuant to Articles
22 and 26, shall consider arrangements to
assist developing country Parties and Parties with
economies in transition, at their request, in
meeting
their obligations under this
Article.
4. The reporting and exchange of information under the
Convention shall be subject to national
law regarding confidentiality and privacy. The Parties
shall protect, as mutually agreed, any
confidential information that is
exchanged.
Article 22
Cooperation in the scientific, technical, and legal
fields and provision of related
expertise
1. The Parties shall cooperate directly or through
competent international bodies to strengthen
their
capacity to fulfill the obligations arising from this
Convention, taking into account the needs of
developing country Parties and Parties with economies
in transition. Such cooperation shall
promote
the transfer of technical, scientific and legal
expertise and technology, as mutually agreed, to
establish
and
strengthen national tobacco control strategies, plans and programmes aiming at,
inter
alia:
(a) facilitation of the development, transfer and
acquisition of technology, knowledge,
skills,
capacity and expertise related to tobacco
control;
(b) provision of technical, scientific, legal and
other expertise to establish and strengthen
national tobacco control strategies, plans and
programmes, aiming at implementation of the
Convention
through, inter
alia:
(i) assisting, upon request, in the development of a
strong legislative foundation as
well as technical programmes, including those on
prevention of initiation, promotion of
cessation and protection from exposure to tobacco
smoke;
(ii) assisting, as appropriate, tobacco workers in the
development of appropriate
economically and legally viable alternative
livelihoods in an economically viable
manner;
and
(iii) assisting, as appropriate, tobacco growers in
shifting agricultural production to
alternative crops in an economically viable
manner;
(c) support for appropriate training or sensitization
programmes for appropriate personnel in
accordance with Article
12;
(d) provision, as appropriate, of the necessary
material, equipment and supplies, as well as
logistical support, for tobacco control strategies,
plans and programmes;
(e) identification of methods for tobacco control,
including comprehensive treatment of
nicotine addiction;
and
(f) promotion, as appropriate, of research to increase
the affordability of comprehensive
treatment of nicotine
addiction.
2. The Conference of the Parties shall promote and
facilitate transfer of technical, scientific
and
legal expertise and technology with the financial
support secured in accordance with Article
26.
PART VIII: INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND FINANCIAL
RESOURCES
Article 23
Conference of the
Parties
1. A Conference of the Parties is hereby established.
The first session of the Conference shall be
convened by the World Health Organization not later
than one year after the entry into force of
this
Convention. The Conference will determine the venue
and timing of subsequent regular sessions at
its
first session.
2. Extraordinary sessions of the Conference of the
Parties shall be held at such other times as
may
be deemed necessary by the Conference, or at the
written request of any Party, provided that,
within
six months of the request being communicated to them
by the Secretariat of the Convention, it is
supported by at least one-third of the
Parties.
3. The Conference of the Parties shall adopt by
consensus its Rules of Procedure at its first
session.
4. The Conference of the Parties shall by consensus
adopt financial rules for itself as well as
governing the funding of any subsidiary bodies it may
establish as well as financial provisions
governing the functioning of the Secretariat. At each
ordinary session, it shall adopt a budget for
the
financial period until the next ordinary
session.
5. The Conference of the Parties shall keep under
regular review the implementation of the
Convention and take the decisions necessary to promote
its effective implementation and may adopt
protocols, annexes and amendments to the Convention,
in accordance with Articles 28, 29 and 33.
Towards this end, it
shall:
(a) promote and facilitate the exchange of information
pursuant to Articles 20 and 21;
(b) promote and guide the development and periodic
refinement of comparable
methodologies for research and the collection of data,
in addition to those provided for in
Article 20, relevant to the implementation of the
Convention;
(c) promote, as appropriate, the development,
implementation and evaluation of strategies,
plans, and programmes, as well as policies,
legislation and other measures;
(d) consider reports submitted by the Parties in
accordance with Article 21 and adopt regular
reports on the implementation of the
Convention;
(e) promote and facilitate the mobilization of
financial resources for the implementation
of
the Convention in accordance with Article
26;
(f) establish such subsidiary bodies as are necessary
to achieve the objective of the
Convention;
(g) request, where appropriate, the services and
cooperation of, and information provided by,
competent and relevant organizations and bodies of the
United Nations system and other
international and regional intergovernmental
organizations and nongovernmental
organizations
and bodies as a means of strengthening the
implementation of the Convention; and
(h) consider other action, as appropriate, for the
achievement of the objective of the
Convention in the light of experience gained in its
implementation.
6. The Conference of the Parties shall establish the
criteria for the participation of observers at
its
proceedings.
Article 24
Secretariat
1. The Conference of the Parties shall designate a
permanent secretariat and make arrangements
for its functioning. The Conference of the Parties
shall endeavour to do so at its first
session.
2. Until such time as a permanent secretariat is
designated and established, secretariat
functions
under this Convention shall be provided by the World
Health Organization.
3. Secretariat functions shall
be:
(a) to make arrangements for sessions of the
Conference of the Parties and any subsidiary
bodies and to provide them with services as
required;
(b) to transmit reports received by it pursuant to the
Convention;
(c) to provide support to the Parties, particularly
developing country Parties and Parties with
economies in transition, on request, in the
compilation and communication of information
required in accordance with the provisions of the
Convention;
(d) to prepare reports on its activities under the
Convention under the guidance of the
Conference of the Parties and submit them to the
Conference of the Parties;
(e) to ensure, under the guidance of the Conference of
the Parties, the necessary coordination
with the competent international and regional
intergovernmental organizations and other
bodies;
(f) to enter, under the guidance of the Conference of
the Parties, into such administrative or
contractual arrangements as may be required for the
effective discharge of its functions; and
(g) to perform other secretariat functions specified
by the Convention and by any of its
protocols and such other functions as may be
determined by the Conference of the Parties.
Article 25
Relations between the Conference of the Parties and
intergovernmental organizations
In order to provide technical and financial
cooperation for achieving the objective of
this
Convention, the Conference of the Parties may request
the cooperation of competent international
and
regional intergovernmental organizations including
financial and development institutions.
Article 26
Financial
resources
1. The Parties recognize the important role that
financial resources play in achieving the
objective
of this
Convention.
2. Each Party shall provide financial support in
respect of its national activities intended to
achieve
the objective of the Convention, in accordance with
its national plans, priorities and
programmes.
3. Parties shall promote, as appropriate, the
utilization of bilateral, regional, subregional and
other
multilateral channels to provide funding for the
development and strengthening of
multisectoral
comprehensive tobacco control programmes of developing
country Parties and Parties with economies
in transition. Accordingly, economically viable
alternatives to tobacco production, including
crop
diversification should be addressed and supported in
the context of nationally developed strategies
of
sustainable
development.
4. Parties represented in relevant regional and
international intergovernmental organizations,
and
financial and development institutions shall encourage
these entities to provide financial assistance
for
developing country Parties and for Parties with
economies in transition to assist them in meeting
their
obligations under the Convention, without limiting the
rights of participation within these
organizations.
5. The Parties agree
that:
(a) to assist Parties in meeting their obligations
under the Convention, all relevant potential
and existing resources, financial, technical, or
otherwise, both public and private that are
available for tobacco control activities, should be
mobilized and utilized for the benefit of
all
Parties, especially developing countries and countries
with economies in transition;
(b) the Secretariat shall advise developing country
Parties and Parties with economies in
transition, upon request, on available sources of
funding to facilitate the implementation of
their
obligations under the
Convention;
(c) the Conference of the Parties in its first session
shall review existing and potential sources
and mechanisms of assistance based on a study
conducted by the Secretariat and other
relevant
information, and consider their adequacy;
and
(d) the results of this review shall be taken into
account by the Conference of the Parties in
determining the necessity to enhance existing
mechanisms or to establish a voluntary
global
fund or other appropriate financial mechanisms to
channel additional financial resources, as
needed, to developing country Parties and Parties with
economies in transition to assist them in
meeting the objectives of the
Convention.
PART IX: SETTLEMENT OF
DISPUTES
Article 27
Settlement of
disputes
1. In the event of a dispute between two or more
Parties concerning the interpretation or
application of this Convention, the Parties concerned
shall seek through diplomatic channels a
settlement of the dispute through negotiation or any
other peaceful means of their own choice,
including good offices, mediation, or conciliation.
Failure to reach agreement by good offices,
mediation or conciliation shall not absolve parties to
the dispute from the responsibility of
continuing
to seek to resolve
it.
2. When ratifying, accepting, approving, formally
confirming or acceding to the Convention, or
at
any time thereafter, a State or regional economic
integration organization may declare in writing to
the
Depositary that, for a dispute not resolved in
accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, it accepts,
as
compulsory, ad hoc arbitration in accordance with
procedures to be adopted by consensus by the
Conference of the
Parties.
3. The provisions of this Article shall apply with
respect to any protocol as between the parties
to
the protocol, unless otherwise provided
therein.
PART X: DEVELOPMENT OF THE
CONVENTION
Article 28
FONT size=1>Amendments to this
Convention
1. Any Party may propose amendments to this
Convention. Such amendments will be
considered
by the Conference of the
Parties.
2. Amendments to the Convention shall be adopted by
the Conference of the Parties. The text of
any proposed amendment to the Convention shall be
communicated to the Parties by the Secretariat
at
least six months before the session at which it is
proposed for adoption. The Secretariat shall
also
communicate proposed amendments to the signatories of
the Convention and, for information, to the
Depositary.
3. The Parties shall make every effort to reach
agreement by consensus on any proposed
amendment to the Convention. If all efforts at
consensus have been exhausted, and no
agreement
reached, the amendment shall as a last resort be
adopted by a three-quarters majority vote of
the
Parties present and voting at the session. For
purposes of this Article, Parties present and voting
means
Parties present and casting an affirmative or negative
vote. Any adopted amendment shall be
communicated by the Secretariat to the Depositary, who
shall circulate it to all Parties for
acceptance.
4. Instruments of acceptance in respect of an
amendment shall be deposited with the
Depositary.
An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 3 of
this Article shall enter into force for
those
Parties having accepted it on the ninetieth day after
the date of receipt by the Depositary of an
instrument of acceptance by at least two-thirds of the
Parties to the Convention.
5. The amendment shall enter into force for any other
Party on the ninetieth day after the date on
which that Party deposits with the Depositary its
instrument of acceptance of the said
amendment.
Article 29
Adoption and amendment of annexes to this
Convention
1. Annexes to this Convention and amendments thereto
shall be proposed, adopted and shall enter
into force in accordance with the procedure set forth
in Article 28.
2. Annexes to the Convention shall form an integral
part thereof and, unless otherwise expressly
provided, a reference to the Convention constitutes at
the same time a reference to any annexes
thereto.
3. Annexes shall be restricted to lists, forms and any
other descriptive material relating to
procedural, scientific, technical or administrative
matters.
PART XI: FINAL
PROVISIONS
Article 30
Reservations
No reservations may be made to this
Convention.
Article 31
Withdrawal
1. At any time after two years from the date on which
this Convention has entered into force for a
Party, that Party may withdraw from the Convention by
giving written notification to the
Depositary.
2. Any such withdrawal shall take effect upon expiry
of one year from the date of receipt by the
Depositary of the notification of withdrawal, or on
such later date as may be specified in the
notification of
withdrawal
3. Any Party that withdraws from the Convention shall
be considered as also having withdrawn
from any protocol to which it is a
Party.
Article 32
Right to vote
1. Each Party to this Convention shall have one vote,
except as provided for in paragraph 2 of
this
Article.
2. Regional economic integration organizations, in
matters within their competence, shall
exercise
their right to vote with a number of votes equal to
the number of their Member States that are
Parties
to the Convention. Such an organization shall not
exercise its right to vote if any of its Member
States
exercises its right, and vice
versa.
Article 33
Protocols
1. Any Party may propose protocols. Such proposals
will be considered by the Conference of the
Parties.
2. The Conference of the Parties may adopt protocols
to this Convention. In adopting these
protocols every effort shall be made to reach
consensus. If all efforts at consensus have
been
exhausted, and no agreement reached, the protocol
shall as a last resort be adopted by a
three-quarters
majority vote of the Parties present and voting at the
session. For the purposes of this Article,
Parties
present and voting means Parties present and casting
an affirmative or negative vote.
3. The text of any proposed protocol shall be
communicated to the Parties by the Secretariat
at
least six months before the session at which it is
proposed for adoption.
4. Only Parties to the Convention may be parties to a
protocol.
5. Any protocol to the Convention shall be binding
only on the parties to the protocol in
question.
Only Parties to a protocol may take decisions on
matters exclusively relating to the protocol
in
question.
6. The requirements for entry into force of any
protocol shall be established by that
instrument.
Article 34
Signature
This Convention shall be open for signature by all
Members of the World Health Organization
and by any States that are not Members of the World
Health Organization but are members of the
United Nations and by regional economic integration
organizations at the World Health
Organization
Headquarters in Geneva from 16 June 2003 to 22 June
2003, and thereafter at United Nations
Headquarters in New York, from 30 June 2003 to 29 June
2004
Article 35
Ratification, acceptance, approval, formal
confirmation or accession
1. This Convention shall be subject to ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession by States
and
to formal confirmation or accession by regional
economic integration organizations. It shall be
open
for accession from the day after the date on which the
Convention is closed for signature.
Instruments
of ratification, acceptance, approval, formal
confirmation or accession shall be deposited with
the
Depositary.
2. Any regional economic integration organization
which becomes a Party to the Convention
without any of its Member States being a Party shall
be bound by all the obligations under the
Convention. In the case of those organizations, one or
more of whose Member States is a Party to
the
Convention, the organization and its Member States
shall decide on their respective responsibilities
for
the performance of their obligations under the
Convention. In such cases, the organization and
the
Member States shall not be entitled to exercise rights
under the Convention concurrently.
3. Regional economic integration organizations shall,
in their instruments relating to formal
confirmation or in their instruments of accession,
declare the extent of their competence with
respect
to the matters governed by the Convention. These
organizations shall also inform the Depositary,
who
shall in turn inform the Parties, of any substantial
modification in the extent of their
competence.
Article 36
Entry into
force
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the
ninetieth day following the date of deposit of
the
fortieth instrument of ratification, acceptance,
approval, formal confirmation or accession with
the
Depositary.
2. For each State that ratifies, accepts or approves
the Convention or accedes thereto after the
conditions set out in paragraph 1 of this Article for
entry into force have been fulfilled, the
Convention
shall enter into force on the ninetieth day following
the date of deposit of its instrument of
ratification,
acceptance, approval or
accession.
3. For each regional economic integration organization
depositing an instrument of formal
confirmation or an instrument of accession after the
conditions set out in paragraph 1 of this
Article
for entry into force have been fulfilled, the
Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth
day
following the date of its depositing of the instrument
of formal confirmation or of accession.
4. For the purposes of this Article, any instrument
deposited by a regional economic integration
organization shall not be counted as additional to
those deposited by States Members of the
organization.
Article 37
Depositary
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be
the Depositary of this Convention and
amendments thereto and of protocols and annexes
adopted in accordance with Articles 28, 29 and
33
Article 38
Authentic
texts
The original of this Convention, of which the Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian and
Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be
deposited with the Secretary-General of the
United
Nations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly
authorized to that effect, have signed this
Convention.
DONE at GENEVA this [date of month] two thousand and
three.