COP Out – The World Health Organization Efforts to End the Harms of Tobacco

In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted its first treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which was intended to act as an international legal agreement to apply tobacco control initiatives globally. This treaty was aimed at reducing the use of tobacco products and reducing the impact of combustible products on public health. The primary driver of establishing the FCTC was the prediction that, if allowed to continue unchecked, the number of lives lost globally per year from smoking-related disease would grow from 3.5 million lives (in 1998) to 10 million deaths per year by 2030.