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Last Updated: Jun 26th, 2007 - 14:22:33 |
Crackdown on tobacco smuggling on cards
Jun 26, 2007, 14:12
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CAPE TOWN – Measures to crack down on international tobacco smuggling will come under discussion at a high-level meeting of public health experts in Bangkok this weekend. Officials from the 147 governments that have so far ratified the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control are expected to attend the meeting, called to review the implementation of the convention. According to the director of the National Council Against Smoking, Dr Yussuf Saloojee, who will be attending as an observer, one of the agenda items is a decision on whether to start negotiations on a protocol to stop the illicit trade in tobacco products. He told Sapa this week that a protocol was a legally binding international agreement that supplemented an existing treaty. “South Africa has a keen interest in stopping the sale of counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes,” he said. A protocol would increase international cooperation in ending this illicit trade. It was too early to say what the protocol would contain, but among the recommendations of a WHO expert group on which he served were the introduction of technology which would allow “tracking and tracing” of tobacco products as they crossed international borders. “So, for instance, if customs seize a consignment of British American Tobacco cigarettes, it will be possible to trace back and find the factory which manufactured the cigarettes and the point in the distribution chain at which the cigarettes entered the illegal market,” he said. “It may also require the licensing of all tobacco manufacturers and wholesalers.” Another item on the Bangkok agenda was the adoption of guidelines on protection from exposure to tobacco smoke in indoor workplaces and public places, and on public transport. Saloojee said a guideline was not legally binding. However it did offer guidance to countries on meeting their obligations under the convention by, for example, offering best practice recommendations. “Globally there is a trend to 100 percent smoke-free indoor public places, or to have designated smoking areas in which no services are provided,” he said. “So no one is allowed to eat in the smoking section of a restaurant. “I imagine South Africa will not be required to make any real changes to its laws to meet the guidelines.” The framework convention, which took effect in 2005, was the world’s first global health treaty. South Africa is one of the vice-chairs of the Conference of the Parties, which oversees the implementation of the convention. According to the WHO, some 30 countries have adopted strong national or regional smoke-free laws. The WHO says five million people will die worldwide this year because of tobacco, and that unless urgent action is taken, tobacco will kill ten million people a year by 2020, 70 percent of them in developing countries.
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