NEWS

China Ratifies International Tobacco Treaty

Kate Travis

In late August, China became the 78th country in the world to ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a global treaty aimed at curbing tobacco use.

Although fewer than 5% of Chinese women smoke, almost two-thirds of Chinese men smoke. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that tobacco accounts for 1.2 million deaths in China each year. China is the world's largest producer of tobacco leaves, is the second-largest exporter of tobacco leaves (Brazil is the largest; the United States is third), and devotes the most land area in the world to growing tobacco.

"We know that implementing the convention will not be easy, as smoking is an ingrained habit in China, but the government has made clear its commitment to take action," Shigeru Omi, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, said in a statement.

More than 160 countries have signed the treaty, which must subsequently be ratified or accepted by the governments of those countries. For the 40 countries that ratified the treaty before November 2004, the treaty went into effect on February 27. For all other countries, the provisions of the treaty go into effect 90 days from ratification.

Those provisions include mandates that countries must ban tobacco advertising, ban event sponsorship that promotes tobacco use, forbid tobacco sales to minors, and print warning labels on tobacco packaging that cover at least 30% of the package. Countries that have ratified the treaty, which was organized under the auspices of the WHO, will meet in Geneva next year to negotiate further provisions for the treaty.

In May 2004, then Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson signed the treaty for the United States, but it has not been sent to the Senate to be ratified. The treaty is with the State Department undergoing "interagency legal review," a normal process for a treaty of this nature, according to a State Department spokesman. There is no timeline for completion of that review, the spokesman said.



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China is the world's largest producer of tobacco leaves. In August, the country ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Credit: ©WHO/P.Virot

 
In July, 11 U.S. senators sent a letter to President Bush urging him to send the treaty to the Senate for consideration. "Now more than ever, the United States is working in partnership with the global community to resolve complex global health and safety problems such as SARS and AIDS," they wrote. "Tobacco should be no different."



             
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