THIRD SESSION OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE WHO FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROLThe third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP3) was held from 17–22 November 2008 in Durban, South Africa. More than 600 delegates from 130 Parties and Observers participated. Among the results was the adoption of three sets of guidelines for the implementation of key provisions of the Convention. COP3: a public health successCOP3 focused essentially on guidelines for national implementation of specific articles of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The COP can be considered as a public health success. It adopted very strong guidelines on Articles 5.3 (protection of public health policy with respect to tobacco control from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry), 11 (packaging and labelling) and 13 (advertising, promotion and sponsorship). Protocol on illicit trade in tobacco productsCOP3 also focused on the ongoing process of elaborating a protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products, deciding to continue the work of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on this matter. The COP set 28 June–5 July 2009, Geneva as the date and venue for the INB third session (INB-3). The COP also decided to mandate the working groups on Article 12 (education, communication, training and public awareness), Articles 9 and 10 (regulation of the contents of tobacco products and of tobacco product disclosures) to submit draft guidelines to COP4. Moreover, it decided to establish working groups on Article 14 (demand reduction measures concerning tobacco dependence and cessation) and on Articles 17 and 18 (provision of support for economically viable alternatives and protection of the environment and the health of the persons). Setting standards for implementationWhile a high standard was thus achieved on substantive matters, these are non-binding guidelines and the challenge is now to ensure implementation by the Parties to the high standards set by the COP. In that respect, COP3 has taken the decision to significantly increase the budget allocated to the Convention Secretariat on assistance to Parties in implementing the Convention from US$665,000 to US$ 2,600 000. This work focuses particularly on developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition. | |||||||
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