Materia Medica Malaysiana

Health Ministry to present Cabinet papers on tobacco control treaty

From The EdgeDaily

The Health Ministry will soon submit a memorandum to Cabinet for consideration toward the ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a global treaty that sets tighter controls on the tobacco industry.

"The papers are now in final draft," said Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng, adding that the ministry would present the documents to Cabinet “very shortly”.

An international initiative by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the FCTC was unanimously adopted by WHO member states, including Malaysia, at the World Health Assembly on May 21, 2003.

Speaking to reporters after delivering his keynote address at the 2003 Malaysian Health Conference on June 23, Chua pointed out that the government must endorse the treaty before it becomes law.

The FCTC is the first international treaty ever to be negotiated by WHO, the United Nations’ principal health agency.

Four years in the making, the treaty sets international standards for tobacco controls with provisions on advertising and sponsorship, tax and price increases, labelling, illicit trade and second-hand smoke.

Signatories are expected to incorporate treaty elements into their national laws. They are free to legislate the FCTC at higher thresholds, but are obliged to refrain from acts that would defeat the treaty’s purpose.

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Time to sell the BAT/JTI shares? :0