United States Signs International Tobacco Treaty

Extract

Activists working to control the tobacco industry worldwide have offered tepid praise to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson for his signing of the international tobacco treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), on May 10 in Washington.

“We welcome his signing, but if the administration does not follow through, the action will be little more than an obvious public relations gesture,” said Judith Wilkenfeld, director of international programs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The treaty, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and agreed to last May by all 192 member nations, would impose a total advertising ban on tobacco products and mandate large warning signs on cigarette packs. Although the WHO has set a deadline of June 29 for nations to sign the treaty as they promised—which is what 107 countries had done by the time Thompson signed—penning a name on the treaty is largely a symbolic act.