International Tobacco Control

Abstract

Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of preventable death globally with the burden falling predominantly on middle- and low-income countries. The World Health Organisation (WHO) introduced the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to reduce the health and economic burden posed by tobacco. In this article, we assess the evidence behind three main measures included in the FCTC: (1) raising the price of tobacco, (2) introducing smoke-free policies and (3) standardised tobacco packaging. We discuss the evidence base for their introduction as well as evidence of the impact of implementation both in industrialised and developing countries, where data are available. A key challenge to the introduction of policies is opposition from the tobacco industry who has a history of challenging such developments. Another key challenge is the introduction of innovative policies which have not been introduced elsewhere, and there is consequentially not yet an evidence base in place. Finally, the advent of alternative nicotine delivery devices such as electronic cigarettes, and the role of the tobacco industry in their production, is posing new challenges for tobacco control.