Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Jun;28(Suppl 2):s119-s128.
doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054389. Epub 2018 Jun 7.

Impact of the WHO FCTC over the first decade: a global evidence review prepared for the Impact Assessment Expert Group

Janet Chung-Hall  1 , Lorraine Craig  1 , Shannon Gravely  1 , Natalie Sansone  1 , Geoffrey T Fong  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Impact of the WHO FCTC over the first decade: a global evidence review prepared for the Impact Assessment Expert Group

Janet Chung-Hall et al. Tob Control. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To present findings of a narrative review on the implementation and effectiveness of 17 Articles of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) during the Treaty's first decade.

Data sources: Published reports on global FCTC implementation; searches of four databases through June 2016; hand-search of publications/online resources; tobacco control experts.

Study selection: WHO Convention Secretariat global progress reports (2010, 2012, 2014); 2015 WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic; studies of social, behavioural, health, economic and/or environmental impacts of FCTC policies.

Data extraction: Progress in the implementation of 17 FCTC Articles was categorised (higher/intermediate/lower) by consensus. 128 studies were independently selected by multiple authors in consultation with experts.

Data synthesis: Implementation was highest for smoke-free laws, health warnings and education campaigns, youth access laws, and reporting/information exchange, and lowest for measures to counter industry interference, regulate tobacco product contents, promote alternative livelihoods and protect health/environment. Price/tax increases, comprehensive smoking and marketing bans, health warnings, and cessation treatment are associated with decreased tobacco consumption/health risks and increased quitting. Mass media campaigns and youth access laws prevent smoking initiation, decrease prevalence and promote cessation. There were few studies on the effectiveness of policies in several domains, including measures to prevent industry interference and regulate tobacco product contents.

Conclusions: The FCTC has increased the implementation of measures across several policy domains, and these implementations have resulted in measurable impacts on tobacco consumption, prevalence and other outcomes. However, FCTC implementation must be accelerated, and Parties need to meet all their Treaty obligations and consider measures that exceed minimum requirements.

Keywords: global health; prevention; public policy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: GTF has served as an expert witness on behalf of governments in litigation involving the tobacco industry.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Global progress in Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) implementation based on available sources up to June 2016.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. GBD 2015 Risk Factors Collaborators. Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet 2016;388:1659–724. 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31679-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. GBD 2015 Tobacco Collaborators. Smoking prevalence and attributable disease burden in 195 countries and territories, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet 2017;389:1885–906. 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30819-X - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2017. Monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2017.
    1. Eriksen M, Mackay J, Schluger N, et al. . The tobacco atlas. 5th edn Atlanta: American Cancer Society, 2015.
    1. World Health Organization. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2011. Warning about the dangers of tobacco. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2011.

Publication types

Grants and funding