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Press Release Philippines Takes A Strong Position On FCTC Talks among the various member nations of the World Health Organization (WHO) are presently underway in Geneva, Switzerland for the 3rd Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB3) of the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Undersecretary of Health Alexander Padilla and Assistant Secretary Enrique Domingo lead the Philippine delegation to INB3, which also has representations from the departments of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, and Trade and Industry. Usec. Padilla, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Customs, is confident that they will be presenting a common interagency position in support of the FCTC. He has acknowledged that the tobacco industry must be regulated as a means to safeguard public health. Key issues that the delegation is supporting include (1) a total ban on both direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising, including promotion and sponsorship, (2) the elimination of duty-free sales of tobacco products, (3) requirements for placing prominent rotating health warnings, including pictures or pictograms, in each country's principal languages, (4) the prioritization of health over trade issues, and (5) strict measures to counter smuggling, including destruction of all seized contraband cigarettes. The FCTC, expected to be signed by member nations by 2003, is a global treaty addressing the increasing number of health problems and deaths related to smoking and other forms of tobacco consumption. At least 4 million lives are lost to the tobacco epidemic each year worldwide. In the Philippines alone, at least 20,000 Filipinos die annually from tobacco-related diseases, while the government spends more than P46 billion in tobacco-related healthcare costs. |
