Beijing, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- According to the World Health Organization, the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (COP10) opened in Panama City, the capital of Panama, on the 5th local time.
The 183 Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, representing more than 90% of the world's population, are working together to strengthen and advance tobacco control. In the first 20 years of this century, the prevalence of tobacco use fell from nearly 33% to 22%, despite continued global population growth.
Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Director of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC, welcomed the participants and warned that new nicotine and tobacco products were on the rise.
Adriana Blanco said that "with the phenomenal growth in the use of these products among young people," this "is becoming a very disturbing issue." Part of the reason for this growth is that misinformation from the tobacco industry has packaged these products as a substitute for genuine tobacco control measures, as the tobacco industry once again tries to take a seat at the table – to be part of the solution to the tobacco epidemic that the industry has created and sustained. ”
The COP will run until 10 February and will be held in person for the first time since 2018. The meeting will consider a number of aspects of work to guide the future work of the FCTC in the fight against the tobacco epidemic. Globally, 8.7 million people die from tobacco every year.
The FCTC was adopted by the World Health Assembly on 21 May 2003 and entered into force on 27 February 2005. Since then, it has become one of the most rapid and widely accepted treaties in the history of the United Nations. (ENDS).