The Non Smokers' Movement of Australia Inc.
	Protecting the rights of the Non-smoking majority from tobacco smoke and the tobacco industry's propaganda.

The Conference notes the current 3.5 million annual deaths from tobacco will increase to 10 million deaths by 2025 and that the epidemic is expanding especially in developing countries and amongst women.

Given the overwhelming scientific evidence confirming that tobacco use is responsible for this growing and global epidemic of death and disease, and that passive smoking is harmful, the 10th World Conference on Tobacco or Health makes the following resolutions.

1. Stopping tobacco use

The Conference recommends that, given the only way to save millions of lives by reducing the projected global tobacco-related death toll, which is over 100 million deaths over the next twenty years;

i. the public health community makes strenuous efforts to help people stop using tobacco products.

2. WHO International Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

The Conference recommends:

i. The WHO and governments to formulate an International Framework Convention to include protocols for comprehensive tobacco control programmes and the recommendations from previous World Conferences, and with the capability to be made broader and more restrictive over time;

ii. Governments to make the necessary financial and technical resources available to the World Health Organisation to enable it to develop a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, as requested by the 49th World Health Assembly in 1996;

iii. The WHO to undertake urgent work to develop a comprehensive Framework Convention in time for agreement at the 53rd World Health Assembly in 2000;

iv. All Governments to agree a Framework Convention text at the 53rd World Health Assembly in 2000 and to ratify and bring the Convention into force promptly.

3. United Nations

The Conference recommends:

i. The United Nations Secretary General ensures that the issue of tobacco control be a priority at the highest level in the United Nations and its agencies;

ii. Governments to take up the issue of international tobacco control at the highest level in the United Nations and to secure adequate funding and political commitment for this task throughout the world.

4. International implications of domestic tobacco control measures

The Conference recommends governments consider the international implications of tobacco control policies or settlements with the tobacco industry, and to ensure that:

a. such measures do not contribute to an increase in the worldwide epidemic of tobacco-related death and disease;

b. the legal rights of those not party to any agreement or policy are fully protected;

c. such measures do not inhibit full public scrutiny of the past, present and future activities of the tobacco industry and;

d. that the tobacco industry pay the costs of damage caused by tobacco.

5. Participation of women and representatives of developing and transition countries

The Conference recommends:

i. All bodies concerned with strategic planning and tobacco control policy development, implementation and evaluation, such as the WHO Expert Advisory Panel, to increase their involvement and representation of women and of people from developing and transition countries;

ii. Future World Conferences on Tobacco or Health to follow the successful example of the 10th World Conference and ensure:

a. equal representation of women and strong representation of people from developing and transition countries as committee members, plenary speakers, chairpersons and discussants.

b. that support is provided to allow all key constituencies, including women, minorities, and people from developing and transition countries, to participate at all levels.

6. Reflecting the full human, social and environmental costs of tobacco

The Conference recommends:

i. The establishment and maintenance of a worldwide monitoring system of the tobacco epidemic and that appropriate resources be provided.

ii. The appropriate multilateral agencies and development banks to finance and undertake co-operative research programmes to establish a full economic analysis of tobacco growing, production and use, taking into account costs of damage to the environment, harm to workers, damage to smokers and passive smokers, and all other tobacco-induced costs that fall on society.

iii. That those responsible for economic policy and advice, including finance ministries and agencies such as development banks and the IMF, ensure that the full health, environmental, social and economic costs of tobacco are represented in the price of tobacco products through taxation.

7. Denormalisation and regulation of tobacco as a harmful substance

The conference recommends:

i. all governments recognise that tobacco is uniquely dangerous and cannot be treated like a normal consumer product because it is the only substance which is both extremely harmful and powerfully addictive when used as intended by its manufacturers, while remaining legal and in widespread use.

ii. all governments subject the contents of tobacco products and smoke, and all aspects of the tobacco business to strict and legally binding regulatory control.

8. Expanding partnerships for a tobacco-free world

The conference recommends:

i. that all non-government organisations involved in tobacco control support INGCAT (International Non-Governmental Coalition Against Tobacco);

ii. and that international networking be established in all sectors involved with tobacco control such as nursing professionals and religious sectors.

A healthier, tobacco-free world depends on each and every one of us: the governments, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, communities and individuals. Let us ALL unite in our efforts to make the world tobacco-free.

		The Non-Smokers' Movement of Australia Inc. Box K860, Haymarket NSW 1240.
This page was last updated on Friday, 19th December 2014