The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has been under negotiation in Geneva for more than two years now. When in force, it will be the first convention ever negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization. It constitutes a unique and innovative public health instrument that aims at curbing the escalation of smoking and other forms of tobacco use in order to prevent to...

Timely warnings and examples of industry interference in relation to tobacco, alcohol, food and breast milk substitutes are given in the editorial by Tangcharoensathien et al. Such interference is rife at national levels and also at the global level. In an era of ‘private public partnerships’ the alcohol and food industries have succeeded in insinuating themselves into the global health environ...

In their paper, Nikogosian and Kickbusch show how the effects of the adoption by the World Health Organization (WHO) of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and its first Protocol extend beyond tobacco control and contribute to public health governance more broadly, by revealing new processes, institutions and instruments. While there are certainly good reasons to be optimisti...

The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control originated in 1993 with a decision by Ruth Roemer and Allyn Taylor to apply to tobacco control Taylor's idea that the WHO should utilize its constitutional authority to develop international conventions to advance global health. In 1995, Taylor and Ruth Roemer proposed various options to WHO, recommending the framework ...