World No Tobacco Day 2015: Stop illicit trade of tobacco products
One in every 10 cigarettes, and many other tobacco products, consumed worldwide are illegal, making the illicit trade of tobacco products a major global concern from many perspectives, including health, legal, economic, governance and corruption. The tobacco industry and criminal groups are among those who profit from the illegal tobacco trade, leaving the public to pay the health and security costs. Ratification by governments of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is necessary to respond to the financial, legal and health impacts of the illicit trade of tobacco products. The public, academia and other sectors can take action by urging their lawmakers to make their countries Parties to the Protocol.
WHO response WHO is committed to fighting the global tobacco epidemic. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control entered into force in February 2005. Since then, it has become one of the most widely embraced treaties in the history of the United Nations with 180 Parties covering 90% of the world's population. The WHO Framework Convention is WHO's most important tobacco control tool and a milestone in the promotion of public health. It is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of people to the highest standard of health, provides legal dimensions for international health cooperation and sets high standards for compliance. In 2008, WHO introduced a practical, cost-effective way to scale up implementation of provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on the ground: MPOWER. Each MPOWER measure corresponds to at least one provision of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The 6 MPOWER measures are: ·         Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies ·         Protect people from tobacco use ·         Offer help to quit tobacco use ·         Warn about the dangers of tobacco ·         Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship ·         Raise taxes on tobacco. The WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products requires a wide range of measures relating to the tobacco supply chain, including the licensing of imports, exports and manufacture of tobacco products; the establishment of tracking and tracing systems and the imposition of penal sanctions on those responsible for illicit trade. It would also criminalise illicit production and cross border smuggling.	Key facts ·         Tobacco kills up to half of its users. ·         Tobacco kills nearly 6 million  people each year. More than five  million of those deaths are the  result of direct tobacco use while  more than 600 000 are the result  of non-smokers being exposed to  second-hand smoke. Unless urgent  action is taken, the annual death toll  could rise to more than eight million  by 2030. ·         Nearly 80% of the world's one  billion smokers live in low- and  middle-income countries. For more details visit www.WHO.int

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