International Legal Consortium

WHO FCTC and Related Resources

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which entered into force on February 27, 2005, has set the policy framework internationally for tobacco control. See our fact sheets:

• FCTC Summary Fact Sheet (PDF)
• Overview of Key FCTC Articles (PDF)

Guidelines
Guidelines have been developed to assist Parties in meeting their obligations under the WHO FCTC. To date, eight sets of Guidelines have been adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC:

• Article 5.3 (PDF) – Protection of public health policies with respect to tobacco control from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry
• Article 6 (PDF) – Price and tax measures to reduce the demand for tobacco
• Article 8 (PDF) – Protection from exposure to tobacco smoke
• Article 9 and 10 Partial Guidelines (PDF) – Regulation of the contents of tobacco products and regulation of tobacco product disclosures
• Article 11 (PDF) – Packaging and labeling of tobacco products
• Article 12 (PDF) – Education, communication, training and public awareness
• Article 13 (PDF) – Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
• Article 14 (PDF) – Demand reduction measures concerning tobacco dependence and cessation

The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, the first Protocol to the Convention, was adopted on November 12, 2012 and entered into force on September 25, 2018.

WHO FCTC Party Reports
Parties to the WHO FCTC are required to submit reports on WHO FCTC implementation to the Convention Secretariat on a semi-annual basis. Parties' reports are available on the Implementation Database.

Legislation

Useful Links

• WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Region Country Legislation provides links to relevant legislation from countries in the region.
• Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) provides access to tobacco control legislation for ASEAN countries.
• Tobacco Labelling Resource Centre provides rich, comprehensive, and practical information on effective, evidence-based labeling policies, with links to laws.

Select Publications

• Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report (7th edition) (PDF), Canadian Cancer Society, October 2021.
• Manual for Developing Tobacco Control Legislation in the Region of the Americas, Pan American Health Organization, 2013.
  • Also available in Spanish.
• WHO FCTC Article 5.3 Toolkit: Guidance for Governments on Preventing Tobacco Industry Interference (PDF), Matthew Allen, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 2012.

Litigation

Useful Links

• WHO FCTC Secretariat's Knowledge Hub on Legal Challenges at the McCabe Centre for Cancer and Law serves as a public resource on legal challenges to implementation of the WHO FCTC.
• Article 19 Toolkit provides an interactive guide on how to take legal action against the tobacco industry. The Toolkit is a product of the Convention Secretariat.
• The O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law's Alcohol and Tobacco Control Program provides many resources on litigation and tobacco control.
• Eye on the Trials provides a running commentary on lawsuits against tobacco companies currently pending before courts in Canada.
• Public Health Law Center offers a summary of tobacco control litigation in the United States and related publications.
• SmokeLitigation.org provides searchable summaries of more than 600 legal cases in the United States regarding smoking in the workplace and other places.

Select Publications

• The impact of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in defending legal challenges to tobacco control measures, Suzanne Y. Zhou, Jonathan D Lieberman and Evita Ricafort, Tobacco Control, 2018.
• Tobacco Control Litigation: Broader Impacts on Health Rights Adjudication, Oscar Cabrera & Juan Carballo, Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Spring 2013.
• Tracking the relevance of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in legislation and litigation through the online resource, Tobacco Control Laws (PDF), Monique E. Muggli et al., Tobacco Control, 2013.
• Tobacco Industry Strategy in Latin American Courts: A Litigation Guide, O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, February 2012.
  • Also available in Spanish.

Other Resources

• TobaccoTactics is an academic resource that monitors the tobacco industry and charts its influence in public health, scientific research, and policy regulation.
• The Truth Tobacco Industry Documents Library provides access to millions of documents created by tobacco companies about their advertising, manufacturing, marketing, scientific research, and political activities.
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Institute for Global Tobacco Control offers a number of online resources related to tobacco control.