A UN treaty that addresses the global tobacco epidemic has saved millions of lives over the past two decades, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
The agency is this week celebrating the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – one of the most widely embraced UN treaties in history.
The Convention provides a legal framework and a comprehensive package of evidence-based tobacco control measures which include large pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages, smoke free laws and increased taxes on tobacco products.
Up to 5.6 billion people are now covered by at least one tobacco control policy in line with the treaty and studies have shown a decline in global smoking rates.
