UN Agencies strategic approach to

Articles 17 and 18 of the WHO

FCTC

Geneva, 17 November 2017

Articles of the Convention (1)

Articles of the Convention (1)

Social disruption and poverty

linked to tobacco farming

• Unfair contractual

arrangements between farmers

and tobacco industry

• Child labour

• Loss of sole income if TI

moves to more profitable

countries or eventual decrease

in demand

Articles of the Convention (2)

Articles of the Convention (2)

Environment

• Deforestation

• Contamination of water

supplies due to pesticides

• Soil degradation

Health

• Green tobacco sickness

• Exposure to pesticides

• Respiratory effects due to

tobacco dust

• Injuries

COP 6 Policy options and recommendations

– Comprehensive and multisectoral

policies

- Keeping coherence

• Between government sectors

• Between funding mechanisms and initiatives

- International cooperation

- International organizations involvement

Meeting in Tanzania June 12-14

• Organized by WHOFCTC Convention Secretariat, FAO, UNDP and

WHO

• Participants:

– 14 countries

– UNICEF

– ILO (remote)

– IDRC

– ACS

– Fiocruz

Outcome of the meeting:

• Each country came out with action points

• Seven countries have made pilot project proposals to be executed in the coming

months

• UN Agencies also proposed action points:

- Increase awareness of art 17 and 18

FAO’s engagement on FCTC Art 17-18

DECISION FCTC/COP7(10) Economically sustainable alternatives to tobacco

growing (in relation to Articles 17 and 18 of the WHO FCTC)

• 2. (c) to invite the Food and Agriculture Organization of the

United Nations (FAO) to include the promotion of

economically sustainable alternatives to tobacco growing as

part of its sustainable rural development agenda;

8

Collaborations….

Results Partners Framework

FAO’s Rural livelihood

work

FCTC

Update of Tobacco Study

Art 17-18 Consultative

Process

WHO (TFI) Collaboration on Alternative

Livelihoods

9

Collaborations….

Zimbabwe: Collaboration with the FCTC Secretariat

Malawi: Collaboration with the UNCTAD

Regional and national support by respective FAO offices

Between 2000 and 2011, a quarter of

income growth in low- and middle-income

countries was attributed to health

improvements

Sources: Schroeder,

SA. 2007. “We can

do better – improving

the health of the

American people.”

New Eng J Med,

357: 1221-8;

adapted from

McGinnis et al. 2002.

“The case for more

active policy

attention to health

promotion.” Health

Aff (Millwood), 21(2):

78-93.

• Front-loading the transition costs

for farmers to move to other crops

• Non-farming livelihood activities

• Access to credit for farmers

• Market support for non-tobacco

crops

• Education support for children of

tobacco growers

• Environmental impact

mitigation and re-forestation efforts

WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2017

Global launch

19th July 2017

Addressing WHO FCTC Art 17 and 18 from the perspective of Health

Health & Economic Impact

Tobacco kills people prematurely

up to half of all tobacco users will die of tobacco-related causes – 7.2 million per year

Tobacco use imposes a heavy economic burden on the world

the cost of smoking alone is estimated to be US$ 1400 billion

Health impact

Tobacco farming workers are often women and children.

In fact, up to 7 in 10 tobacco farm workers are women.

Tobacco growing and production can involve hazardous chemicals which endanger the health of workers (e.g. leading to green tobacco sickness and increased abortion rates).

Pesticides used in tobacco growing and their potential harms

As a monocrop, tobacco plants are vulnerable to a variety of pests and diseases, prompting many farmers to apply large quantities of chemicals and pesticides, which harm human health and the environment.

Commonly used pesticides and herbicides include: ALDICARB, CHLORPYRIFOS, 1,3-DICHLOROPROPEN, IMIDACLOPRID, METHYL BROMIDE, CHLOROPICRIN, CARBARYL.

Tobacco workers often apply these highly toxic pesticides without appropriate protection.

Products affect brain and respiratory system and are cancer-causing; highly toxic to bees and other beneficial insects and certain bird species; persistent in the environment in soil and water.

World No Tobacco Day 2017 theme: "Tobacco threatens us all"

main messages around four topics:

New publication released on WNTD 2017:

Tobacco Life Cycle – From Cultivation to Consumer Waste

The Impact of Tobacco Growing and Curing

Tobacco growing and curing cause deforestation, loss of biodiversity and land desertification. It is also extremely water and energy intensive

More than 11 million metric tonnes of wood are required annually for tobacco curing.

One tree is lost for every 300 cigarettes produced.

Tobacco smoke pollutes indoor environments where third-hand smoke resulting from long-lasting residue after the cigarette has been extinguished, affecting infants and young children

Nicotine and tobacco byproducts end up in many solid-waste landfills or dumps which can then leach into its surroundings

Pollution from consuming tobacco products

The waste generated in manufacture are some of the greatest sources of tobacco’s environmental damage

Up to 680 million kilograms of waste tobacco product litters the world each year.

Cigarette butts account for 30-40% of all items collected in costal and urban clean-ups.

Manufacturing and Post consumer waste