TT ratifies WHO tobacco control convention

Trinidad and Tobago yesterday became the first Caribbean country to ratify the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which was adopted unanimously by the 56th World Health Assembly in May last year. Thirteen Caribbean countries are among the 168  signatories to the Convention and 25 have ratified. To enter into force, 40 countries must endorse the FCTC. President of the Cancer Society Dr George Laquis was happy with the ratification, since the society has been lobbying for tobacco control since the 1970s. During the signing ceremony at Knowsley Building, Dr Laquis challenged Minister of Foreign Affairs Knowlson Gift and Health Minister John Rahael to “put some pressure” on their Caribbean colleagues to ratify the convention. He said if the other countries did so, then there would be more countries than the 40 required.

Dr Laquis said TT has always been a leader in the fight against cancer. “We have accepted the responsibility for cancer treatment and prevention in the Caribbean. It is a little known fact that most of the eastern Caribbean cancer patients are treated in TT.” Dr Laquis said tobacco has been identified as the single most preventable lifestyle disease in the world “and single greatest threat to man’s health in the modern world.” Citing statistics, he said 100 million have died from tobacco use in the 20th century and if the trend continued it would accelerate. Laquis said the tobacco industry has cost the world US$200 billion. “The tobacco industry has never been profitable to countries like TT. It has never been profitable for tobacco-producing countries, because the add-on profits are in cigarettes not in the production of tobacco.”

Gift said the convention “is the first legally binding international public health treaty developed under the auspices of the WHO. While the convention does not purport to eradicate the use of tobacco, reduction in the prevalence is a key component.” He said the convention sought to curb the global tobacco pandemic by providing national governments with effective measures for controlling tobacco consumption. “Other substantive issues addressed by the convention include advertising, packaging and labelling, subsidies, pricing and taxation and information-sharing.” Gift assured that tobacco control was a public health priority of the Government. He said international support would be necessary to coordinate and facilitate efforts to confront issues such as smuggling and transfer of technical resources as well as harmonisation of research strategies and standards. Gift said the convention was a foundation treaty which could be strengthened by protocols on more specific issues.

Health Minister John Rahael announced the establishment of a Tobacco Technical Task Force which was working with other ministries, non-governmental organisations and Coalition for a Tobacco Free TT, to eliminate tobacco use. Although national campaigns against tobacco use have taken place, he said the FCTC would “allow lower and middle income countries the firm backing to develop effective strategic plans to eliminate tobacco market niches in their countries.” Rahael said reports from the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit have said tobacco is responsible for 4.9 million deaths annually. He said if current consumption trends prevail this number would increase to $10 million annually by 2025. Seventy percent of the fatalities occurred in the developing world. Rahael said smokers put themselves at greater risk of experiencing seizures of the brain, cardiac arrests and developing various non-communicable diseases including diabetes.