176 Countries Adopt Pact On Illegal Tobacco Trade

A total of 176 countries, have adopted what WHO Director-General Margaret Chan called a “game-changing’’ global agreement to combat illegal tobacco trade.

The pact was ratified at a meeting in Seoul, South Korea, at the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

The agreement came into force in 2005.

“The treaty envisages an international tracking system which aims to halt the smuggling and counterfeiting of tobacco products, a trade which accounts for 11 per cent of the total tobacco market.

“This would cost governments an estimated 40 billion dollars in lost tax revenue,’’ the WHO said in a statement.

The statement quoted Chan as describing the pact a major step towards for “eliminating a very sophisticated criminal activity’’.

The statement said the protocol gives signatory states five years to establish a tracking and tracing mechanism on cigarettes and every other tobacco product.

The system will use non-removable markings and will be coordinated globally to detect illegal tobacco trading.

“Agents, suppliers and tobacco manufacturers will all have to be licensed. Manufacturers will have to carry out checks on customers to ensure they are genuine or if they have associations with criminal organisations,’’ it noted.