In the interest of public health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged member nations of its global tobacco treaty to ban or regulate the use of e-cigarettes and other emerging products of the tobacco industry.
In a webinar ahead of the 10th Conference of Parties (COP 10) and the third Meeting of the Parties (MOP3) slated for February 5 to 10 and 12 to 15, 2024 in Panama, WHO and Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) have underscored the need to end tobacco-related deaths and diseases worldwide.
E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that people use to heat liquid into a vapour that can be inhaled.
During the webinar, WHO and NATT stressed the need for the 183 parties or over 90 per cent of the global population to protect the present and coming generations from the consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to smoking.
Legal Officer, WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), Sabina Jacazzi, lamented tobacco smoking, pointing out that the use of e-cigarettes and other tobacco-associated products remain a huge threat to public health, life and the environment.
The event also featured experts from around the world, including the Executive Director, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), AkinbodeOluwafemi, who noted that the latest data showed a global decline in smoking, but revealed that the tobacco industry was adopting new tactics to deceive government officials and ensnare the public.
Oluwafemi urged the media to be alert to conversations driven by the industry, adding that the tobacco industry was also increasingly using the so-called alternatives as an attack on the FCTCT process itself.
Other experts on the panel included Tobacco Campaign Director, Corporate Accountability, Daniel Dorado; Executive Director, Vision for Alternative Development, Ghana, LabramMusah; Research Director, FundaciónAnaas, Colombia,, Blanca Llorente; Board Director, Asia Pacific Cities Alliance for Health and Development, Singapore, Dr Tara Bam; and Founding Managing Editor, CNS India, ShobhaShukla.
