History of WHF involvement with FCTC
As an advocate of putting cardiovascular disease and its risk factors on the global health agenda, the World Heart Federation is a natural ally of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) initiative and strongly calls on its member organizations to be involved in the implementation.
Read more about the World Heart Federation's support for the FCTC:
Message from the President
Highlights of FCTC
Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB)
INB3: World Heart Federation proposed position on the FCTC
INB4: World Heart Federation interventions
INB4: WHF participants
INB5: NGO interventions
INB6: Letter to Ambassador Luiz Felipe de Seixas Correa
Chair's text of FCTC
WHF comments on the Chair's text
Read the report on the Second Session of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) - WHO FCTC - 31 January to 4 February 2005. INB6 Report
Members’ involvement
The Federation encouraged its member organizations to contact government officials to request that they adopt the Treaty. To do so, the member organizations could use the following model letter:
Model letter to Government Officials
Some members took this step, as the Turkey and Brazil examples show:
Turkey:
The Turkish Heart Foundation wrote to the President, Prime Minister and the Minister of Health in Turkey, urging for Turkey’s signature of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Turkey signed in April 2004. See the letter from the Turkish Heart Foundation.
Brazil:
Following FCTC discussions at the Preventive Cardiology conference in Iguassu, in May 2005, a document was sent to all the Brazilian senators asking them to ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It goes on to list some considerations regarding tobacco addiction and tobacco industry. The document was ratified in November 2005.
Read the 
Portuguese version
Mirror signatures
At a WHO informal meeting on Health Professional Organizations and Tobacco Control, it was decided to create a list of "mirror signatures" to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This list was opened for signature by all international organizations and their national members as well as affiliates. A web site is dedicated to this, including a form to be signed.
The WHF has signed it and recommends its members to do likewise. It can be used to mobilize media and other NGOs within our members’ countries
"Convention News"
Death clock reaches 40 Million
Intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) November 2008
The World Heart Federation participated in the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on a Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products in Geneva, 20-25 October 2008.
The INB will report to the third session of the Conference of the Parties in Durban at the end of the month, an event that the WHF will attend as well. During that week, government representatives have met to negotiate a protocol which recognizes the serious threat posed to public health by the illicit trade in tobacco products – primarily through the undermining of tax policy – and the cross-border nature of illicit trade, which means that no state can effectively address the problem on its own. A number of important issues have been raised during the meeting, such as - The relation between this protocol and other international agreements and agencies, in particular UNODC, the development of an international tracking and tracing system, bans on duty free and internet sales, requirements for customer identification and verification. INB 3 will take place in June or July 2009.
The World Heart Federation will report on the Third Conference of the Parties which starts on 17 November for a week.