Global FCTC Strategy
Tobacco control is included in the new, global development goals. But that won’t automatically produce more effective tobacco control at country level: for that to happen will require a huge effort from all advocates. This toolkit is designed to help.
The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that world leaders adopted in September 2015 at the United Nations General Assembly. In fact, it is recognised as one of the “means of implementation” to reach the overall health goal (SDG 3) and a target on non-communicable diseases (NCDs)*. This is a huge achievement.
But nothing will happen automatically just because implementation of the FCTC is included in the SDGs. This decision certainly gives the FCTC a higher profile, but there are 169 commitments in the SDGs and governments will have to choose the ones that they will focus on.
Advocates have a major role to play
It will be up to us to ensure that governments know that the world community has endorsed the FCTC and its measures, and how effective they can be. In-country advocates will play a huge role in this awareness-raising.
This toolkit is designed to help. It includes:
- Press releases and opinion articles that you can send to officials and the media to raise awareness about the positive role that tobacco control can play in sustainable development;
- Other ideas for persuading governments to explicitly include tobacco control in their development plans;
- Background on the process that led to the inclusion of tobacco / tobacco control in the SDGs;
- Lessons learned from tobacco control advocates who have been working to get tobacco control included in their governments’ development plans;
- Information on how tobacco and tobacco use impact many aspects of sustainable development, beyond health
- Links to official documents, other FCA articles and research.
