2023 (Part I)

2023, the parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (hereinafter referred to as the Convention) will adopt a variety of methods to reduce the demand, supply and harm of tobacco, such as adjusting the tax and price of tobacco products, promoting the control of smoking in public places, and strengthening the control of tobacco products., Widely ban tobacco advertising, adjust the packaging and labeling of tobacco products, strengthen the supervision of new tobacco products, protect the environment, etc. The World Health Organization, tobacco control NGOs and other stakeholders have taken new initiatives. The global tobacco control compliance work shows that tobacco control has moved forward in the global governance agenda, some extreme tobacco control measures have been questioned, the concept of tobacco control compliance has increased differences, practice differentiation is obvious and other trend characteristics.

1. global tobacco epidemic

According to the World Health Organization's "Global Tobacco Epidemic Report 2000-2030" released in January 2024, in 2022, the global tobacco use rate will be 20.9 percent, the tobacco smoking rate will be 16.7 percent, and the cigarette smoking rate will be 15 percent. The number of global tobacco users is 1.245 billion, with 1.021 billion men and 0.224 billion women. From 2000 to 2022, the global tobacco use rate continued to decline, and the number of tobacco users decreased steadily. Among them, the number of female tobacco consumers continued to decrease, and the number of male tobacco consumers was generally stable.

Progress 2. the conclusion and negotiation of the Convention

2023 marks the 19th year of the Convention's entry into force. In 2023, Malawi joined the Convention. The number of parties to the Convention will reach 183, covering more than 90% of the world's population. The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (hereinafter referred to as the Protocol) is the only protocol under the framework of the Convention. In 2023, Poland and Rwanda acceded to the Protocol, bringing the number of parties to the Protocol to 68.

The tenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (hereinafter referred to as COP10) and the third session of the Conference of the Parties to the Protocol (hereinafter referred to as MOP3) will be held in Panama City from 5 to 15 February 2024. This session coincides with the important node of the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention, and is also the first offline meeting of the Convention since the new crown epidemic, which has accumulated five years of substantive issues before and after the two sessions, with many negotiations and great differences of opinion.

meeting include the following.

Tobacco Control and the Environment. Brazil added a provisional agenda on "protecting the environment", that is, to address the so-called deforestation, air pollution, soil degradation, water pollution and other environmental problems caused by the development of the tobacco industry, focusing on the damage to the environment caused by the excessive use and difficult degradation of waste such as cigarette filter rods and plastic in tobacco packaging. Canada, Australia, Singapore and others support Brazil's view. Japan, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, etc. objected. The final resolution of the meeting was more moderate, that is, countries should "give due consideration" to the regulatory plan of filters and related devices, and did not require drastic measures such as banning filters, while emphasizing that countries should regulate according to their national legal framework. It is expected that environmental issues will continue to be the focus and challenge of subsequent sessions.

Survival of the Working Group on Articles 9 and 10 of the Convention. Regarding issues such as the control and disclosure of tobacco products, there are major differences in whether to continue to complete the work through the working group authorized by the parties or the newly organized expert group of the Convention Secretariat to carry out the work. Egypt, Zimbabwe and the Philippines support the working group, and Canada, Australia and Singapore support the expert group. As the mandate of the Expert Group had expired and the meeting ultimately did not continue to mandate the Expert Group, the work of the Expert Group, which represented the Convention secretariat and not the will of the Parties, was discontinued. The issue was deferred until the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP11).

Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship. The meeting considered the "Specific Guidelines for the Implementation of Article 13 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control" drafted by the Working Group on Article 13 of the Convention to address cross-border tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and the description of tobacco in the entertainment media "(hereinafter referred to as" Specific Guidelines "), which is an addendum to the existing guidelines for the implementation of Article 13 of the Convention. The meeting decided to limit the control of tobacco description to entertainment media platforms only, to delete excessive provisions such as "health and ingredient warnings should be issued on entertainment media describing tobacco" by Parties, to emphasize the adoption of "broad ban" rather than "total ban" measures on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and to reiterate that all control measures should be premised on national legislation.

Prospective Tobacco Control Measures. Some Parties believe that the progress in the implementation of tobacco control in the world has not met expectations, and propose to promote the implementation of forward-looking tobacco control measures, that is, to promote the implementation of the existing provisions of the Convention, especially tobacco control measures that are more stringent than the requirements of the Convention. Such as "tobacco plain packaging", "prohibition of display and sale", "next generation of smoke-free" and so on. The European Union, Canada, Australia and Thailand expressed their support, while Zimbabwe, Malawi and Guatemala raised objections. In the end, the meeting did not clarify the specific content and implementation path of forward-looking tobacco control measures, and decided to set up an expert group to study this topic during the intersessional period. It is expected that this topic will continue to be the focus of subsequent sessions.

responsibility. The Convention Secretariat believes that the implementation of the liability provisions stipulated in Article 19 of the Convention should be strengthened, and urges all parties to hold the tobacco industry accountable for corporate behavior, including compensation. Zimbabwe, Mozambique, the Philippines and others believe that the limitation and uncertainty of liability should be prevented. Brazil, Canada, Uruguay and others insisted on re-establishing the expert group and authorized the expert group to accelerate the implementation of the responsibility clause on a global scale. The meeting finally decided to establish a group of experts, but its responsibilities were limited to collecting and reviewing relevant parties' effective practices and related information on liability mechanisms, and "as appropriate" to support parties in improving the civil and criminal liability systems and related tobacco industry-related administrative measures. It is expected that this topic will intersect with environmental protection, human rights and other topics in future sessions, and enter into deeper discussions.

new tobacco products. Parties generally agree that new tobacco products pose a challenge to the implementation of the Convention and call for increased research and regulation. The United Kingdom and Canada pointed out that the international community still has insufficient research on the concept classification and health effects of such products. Côte d'Ivoire and Laos believe that such products may have a "gateway effect" that will make young people turn to traditional cigarettes. Mexico and Ghana believe that there is no scientific evidence to equate new tobacco products with harm reduction products. The meeting held a full discussion on this topic. Due to the obvious intersection with other topics, insufficient basic research and large differences of opinion, the meeting did not issue a resolution on this topic.

In addition, the key topics of this session include tobacco control and human rights, improvement of the reporting system of the parties, peer review mechanism for compliance, revision of the rules of procedure, financial budget, investment funds, etc.

Progress 3. implementation of key provisions of the Convention

According to the definition of "tobacco control" in the Convention, tobacco control mainly includes reducing tobacco demand, reducing tobacco supply and reducing tobacco harm. Article 5 of the Convention sets out the general obligations of Parties, including the development of tobacco control strategies, plans and programmes. Articles 6 to 14 of the Convention provide for measures to reduce the demand for tobacco, including price and tax measures, prevention of exposure to tobacco smoke, control and disclosure of ingredients, packaging and labeling, education, communication, training and public awareness, advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and promotion of smoking cessation. Articles 15 to 17 of the Convention provide for measures to reduce the supply of tobacco, including combating illicit trade and protecting minors. In addition, issues such as the regulation of new tobacco products, legal liability, environmental protection and human rights have also become the focus of the international community.

(I) tobacco control strategies, plans and programmes

Article 5 of the Convention, General Obligations, requires Parties to develop, implement, regularly update and review comprehensive multisectoral tobacco control strategies, plans and programmes, to establish national coordinating bodies for tobacco control, and, when formulating and implementing public health policies on tobacco control, to protect those policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry. According to the latest available data, 74 per cent of the Parties have introduced comprehensive national tobacco control plans through legislation or executive orders.

2023, some countries will adjust tobacco control legislation to expand the scope of tobacco product control and strengthen tobacco control. Australia passed the Tobacco Control Act, requiring the updating of graphic warnings on cigarette packaging, strengthening health warnings on each cigarette, banning tobacco products with flavors such as menthol, bringing electronic cigarettes into the scope of regulation, and clarifying regulatory measures in packaging and advertising. Romania has amended its tobacco control law to include new tobacco products such as heated cigarettes under regulation. Russia promulgated the law on the supervision of the production and circulation of tobacco products, nicotine containing products and their raw materials, which comprehensively strengthened the control of nicotine products, including license management, raw material control, etc. Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Georgia, Greece, Jordan, Maldives, Mexico, etc. have developed or modified national laws and regulations or strategies for tobacco control.

2023, some countries will introduce policies to "prevent the influence of the tobacco industry. BiH amended the law on tobacco control to make specific requirements for transparency in the government's contact with the tobacco industry. Kyrgyzstan has issued regulations prohibiting government agencies from establishing partnerships and providing preferential treatment with the tobacco industry in the form of a negative list. Costa Rica, Spain and Mexico have issued policies to regulate the participation of public servants in activities related to the tobacco industry.

2023, the Smoke-Free Next Generation Act is blocked. "Next Generation Smoke-free" is the most radical tobacco control measure at present. It aims to eliminate all forms of tobacco use in the next generation and prohibit people born after a certain date from buying or using tobacco products. In 2022, New Zealand passed the bill, and the governments of individual parties with aggressive tobacco control positions such as Singapore, Denmark, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Finland announced similar plans. In 2023, New Zealand and Malaysia announced the abolition of the "Next Generation Smoke-free" Act. New Zealand is the first country to implement the bill, which the new government believes will stimulate illegal trade and exacerbate the economic downturn. The Malaysian government believes that the bill infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and customers.

(II) reduce demand for tobacco

tax and price measures.

Article 6 of the Convention requires Parties to adopt price and tax measures to reduce tobacco consumption. According to the latest available data, the global average comprehensive tax rate on tobacco products in 2023 is 56%. The average tax rate on cigarettes (tax as a percentage of the retail price of the best-selling cigarette brands) was 61.6 per cent (66.9 per cent in high-income countries, 59.1 per cent in middle-income countries and 56.5 per cent in low-income countries) and $5.95 per pack ($9.78 in high-income countries, $5.07 in middle-income countries and $3.1 in low-income countries).

2023, the global tobacco tax rate divergence intensified. Of the 109 Parties for which data were available, 41 had cigarette tax rates between 50 and 75 per cent, 24 between 25 and 50 per cent, 31 above 75 per cent and 13 below 25 per cent. Europe, the region with the highest tobacco taxes in the world, has continued to raise the tax rate in recent years, with the median rising from 76 per cent in 2020 to 77 per cent in 2023, while Africa, the region with the lowest tobacco taxes in the world, has continued to decrease in recent years, with the median falling from 34 per cent in 2020 to 30 per cent in 2023. Tobacco taxes have increased in the Americas and the Eastern Mediterranean, while they have decreased significantly in the Western Pacific, with the median tax rate falling from 60 per cent in 2020 to 48 per cent in 2023. The differentiation of tobacco tax rates has exacerbated illegal trade such as tobacco smuggling.

from a country-specific point of view, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Tunisia, East Timor, such as raising tobacco taxes. The UK raised the excise tax on cigarettes, with the institutional cigarette tax rate increasing by 12.1 per cent, the hand-rolled cigarette tax rate increasing by 16.1 per cent and the overall retail price rising by 10.1 per cent. After 2018, Singapore will once again increase the consumption tax on tobacco products by 15%, and the tax rates on cigarettes, cigars, bidi cigarettes, tobacco leaves, tobacco waste, and reconstituted tobacco leaves have all increased significantly. Tunisia's Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Convention Secretariat, have developed a three-year tobacco tax reform plan (2023-2025), which is expected to exceed 75% by 2025. Timor-Leste has significantly increased the tobacco excise tax from US $19 per kilogram in 2021 to US $100 per kilogram in 2023. The average tax rate on cigarettes has increased from 21.8 per cent in 2020 to 59.8 per cent in 2023. The retail price of cigarettes has increased by 75%, from US $2 per pack in 2020 to US $3.5 per pack in 2023. Parties such as Russia, Austria, the Netherlands, South Africa, Congo, Pakistan and Estonia also increased tobacco taxes or prices to varying degrees. Canada, Egypt, Portugal, Morocco, Denmark, Malaysia, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Latvia and other focus on e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products to strengthen tax control. Nigeria, Norway, etc. to reduce tobacco taxes. Nigeria's taxation has diversified characteristics to create a better business environment, promote enterprise development, and suspend the consumption tax on some locally produced goods, including tobacco. The average tax on cigarettes in Norway fell from 62% to 56%.

high tobacco taxes are an important cause of illegal trade. Kenya's tobacco excise duty has increased by more than 50 per cent since 2019, widening the gap in excise duty between its neighbouring East African Community countries, with the share of illicit cigarettes growing from 11.3 per cent in 2019 to 25.5 per cent in 2022. The surge in illicit trade has instead expanded the size of the tobacco market, leading to an increase in tobacco use. According to data released by the World Health Organization, Montenegro has continued to increase tobacco taxes in recent years. The prices of cigarettes, cigars, heated cigarettes, and electronic cigarettes have increased year by year, and the affordability of legal products has decreased year by year. Due to the rampant illegal trade in tobacco, the smoking rate in the country has increased from 35.4 per cent in 2020 to 36.2 per cent in 2023.

protect against exposure to tobacco smoke.

Article 8 of the Convention requires Parties to take measures to prevent exposure to tobacco smoke in public places, which in practice is mainly reflected in legislation to control smoking in public places. Different countries have different tobacco production and marketing, consumption habits, social customs and law enforcement capabilities, and the scope and intensity of smoking control in public places are different. Among the 195 countries and regions with available data, 121 countries and regions have not implemented the national "one size fits all" smoking control legislation in public places, twenty-seven per cent of high-income countries, 23 per cent of middle-income countries and 43 per cent of low-income countries have not taken or only taken measures to ban smoking in category 1 or 2 public places. Of the 50 states in the United States (non-contracting parties), 20 states do not ban smoking in restaurants and bars.

In recent years, the types of smoking control places in some countries and regions have expanded, from indoor places to outdoor places, from public places to specific non-public places, including airports, cultural facilities, public beaches, parks, hotel public areas, Hotel rooms, prisons, private transportation including minors, outdoor places where minors gather, etc. The types of products for smoking control are expanding, from combustible tobacco to new tobacco products and even new nicotine products. For example, Mexico continues to expand smoking control places and extends smoking control measures to electronic cigarettes (including nicotine-free electronic cigarettes). Critics believe that the strict ban does not match Mexico's tobacco epidemic and law enforcement capabilities, which will make it difficult to implement the ban and even breed corruption in the field of law enforcement. Kyrgyzstan has extended smoking control measures to include hookah, heated cigarettes and electronic cigarettes, and has implemented a total ban on smoking in indoor public places and some outdoor public places.

worth noting that smoking areas have become an international practice. When formulating laws and policies to control smoking in public places, more and more countries and regions have achieved better legislative effects by setting up smoking areas to take into account the interests of different groups of people. According to statistics, 50% of high-income countries allow smoking areas in certain public places, 32% of middle-income countries and 21% of low-income countries allow smoking areas in any public place. In 2023, Portugal's new regulations came into effect, allowing restaurants, bars and other places to set up smoking areas, provided that the area of these places is not less than 100 square meters, the ceiling height is not less than 3 meters, and the smoking area accounts for up to 20% of the area of consumer activities.%. Vietnam has promulgated new regulations to prohibit smoking in indoor places such as administrative agencies, educational institutions, and cinemas, while allowing smoking areas in public places such as hotels, trains, bars, and airports.

Author: National Bureau of Tobacco Economic Research Institute (Policy Research Office), National Bureau Office, Fujian China Tobacco, Beijing Municipal Bureau (company)

Home Page    新闻    2023 (Part I)