Zhou, Suzanne; Liberman, Jonathan --- "The global tobacco epidemic and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control—the contributions of the WHO’s first convention to global health law and governance" [2018] ELECD 1042; in Burci, Gian Luca; Toebes, Brigit (eds), "Research Handbook on Global Health Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 340

Book Title: Research Handbook on Global Health Law

Editor(s): Burci, Gian Luca; Toebes, Brigit

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781785366536

Section: Chapter 12

Section Title: The global tobacco epidemic and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control—the contributions of the WHO’s first convention to global health law and governance

Author(s): Zhou, Suzanne; Liberman, Jonathan

Number of pages: 49

Abstract/Description:

The global tobacco epidemic kills seven million people annually, and has rapidly spread over the past five decades, with 80% of tobacco-related deaths now occurring in low and middle-income countries. Alarmed by the scale and globalisation of the epidemic, in 1996, World Health Organization (WHO) member states invoked the WHO’s treaty-making powers under article 19 of its Constitution for the first, and so far only, time, adopting the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2003. This chapter assesses the significance of the WHO FCTC for both global health and international law, focusing on its creation; the normative regime developed by its governing body; its place in broader sustainable development and non-communicable diseases agendas; its achievements and ongoing challenges; and its interactions with other bodies of law, including human rights law, international trade and investment law, and regional and domestic protections for commercial rights and interests.