[The event is now cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.]Tobacco harms societies at so many different levels. Risky tobacco is consumed by over a billion people around the world in the form of cigarettes, bidis, kreteks, cigars, cigarillos and south asian oral tobacco products, causing millions of premature deaths annually. Tobacco farming can be economically beneficial to the farmers involved, however it also brings with it challenges such as environmental costs, sustainable farming and difficulties in finding alternative livelihood. The tobacco supply chain is complex and often yields a significant political and economical influence on tobacco regulatory policy.
The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is a global treaty on tobacco control that has the potential to eliminate or at least substantially reduce the harms from tobacco products and its supply chain globally. Ratified by most countries globally and structured as a framework for demand, supply and harm reduction strategies for tobacco, the FCTC's articles, guidelines and protocols are powerful tools if implemented properly. And that's where there are significant challenges faced by national governments, particularly those that do not have adequate expertise or resources to convert the policies into practice.
This talk will highlight the challenges of implementing FCTC policies at national levels, and propose a set of approaches and solutions for realising the public health potential of FCTC.