• If swift action is not taken, tobacco will soon become the leading cause of death worldwide, causing more deaths than HIV, tuberculosis, maternal mortality automobile accidents, homicide and suicide combined.

• Tobacco use is already the leading cause of preventable death, disease and disability in the world today.

• According to the World Health Organization, tobacco accounted for over 3 million annual deaths in 1990. The toll rose to 4.023 million annual deaths by 1998.

• It is estimated that tobacco attributable deaths will rise to 8.4 million by 2020 and reach 10 million annual deaths by 2030.

• The tobacco epidemic is an international problem since developing countries will bear the brunt of the problem in the future. At present there are about 4 million deaths a year worldwide due to tobacco-related diseases, with the balance split approximately between developed and developing countries. By 2030, if present trends continue unchecked, the figure will increased to 10 million deaths per year, with 70 % of these deaths taking place in developing countries.

• The large multinational tobacco companies are largely responsible for the tremendous
  increases in smoking, particularly amongst women, in developing countries. They have used their enormous political and financial power to influence governments and aggressively promote their products. The move of tobacco companies into the developing world has come as they are stung by litigation, declining smoking rates and more stringent legislation in wealthier countries. In the near future it is developing countries which will carry the burden of disease due to tobacco use.

• The tobacco industry is a global industry. Faced with increased regulation, greater awareness of the health risks of smoking, and declining sales in Europe and North America, the tobacco multinationals are stepping up their activities in developing countries in search of new markets.

• A number of aspects of the tobacco problem are particularly trans boundary in nature and can only be dealt with effectively by international action.

• Tobacco industry marketing campaigns are executed simultaneously across a number of different countries, including through the use of satellite television.

• Smuggling of cigarettes, coordinated by the tobacco industry on an international level, involving operations in numerous countries has been well documented. Curbing the smuggling of cigarettes will take a concerted international effort.

• A lively international process will encourage and enable governments to implement stronger tobacco control policies at national level.

If action is taken, the benefits to be reaped in terms of prevented death and disease and enhanced quality of life for millions of people worldwide, will be enormous.

For this reason the World Health Assembly (WHA), the governing body of World Health Organization unanimously backed a resolution calling for work to begin on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This new legal instrument could address issues as diverse as tobacco advertising and promotion, agricultural diversification, smuggling, taxes and subsidies.

If adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control will be the first legally convention/agreement to be negotiated by the Member States of the World Organization that will deal with tobacco issues.

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