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Meeting of the Parties (MOP2) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products has granted Observer Status to the ENSP
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On the first day of the Second Meeting of the Parties (MOP2), the second item on the agenda was related to the applications for the status of observers to the MOP. Regarding this, 18 applications have been submitted to the Secretariat and following the Bureau recommendation, the MOP decided to grant observer status to 2 intergovernmental organisations and 8 nongovernmental organisations. |
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The ENSP is pleased to announce its Observer Status granted by the Second Meeting of the Parties, on 15 November 2021!
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Opening remarks to MOP2 participants by WHO Director, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
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"If tobacco was a virus, it would long ago have been called a pandemic, and the world would marshal every resource to stop it.
But instead, it’s a multi-billion dollar business that profits from death and disease, imposes huge costs on health systems, and takes a massive economic toll in lost productivity." |
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During the Second Meeting of the Parties (MOP2) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, a few keynote speakers delivered powerful remarks. The opening remarks made by the WHO Director, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, left the audience with a big question mark regarding the evolution of the tobacco epidemic around the world. |
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COP9 closing agreement to strengthen global tobacco control measures
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The Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has closed with an agreement to embark on an innovative multi-million-dollar financial plan to strengthen global tobacco control measures.
A key milestone arising from COP9 is the decision to move forward with the development and launch of an investment fund which will offer a third source of support to help global tobacco control efforts. This lays a foundation for financial stability for the future implementation of the WHO FCTC. The fund will complement existing revenue received from Parties through assessed contributions and extra budgetary support.
The event also saw the highest level of participation since the initiation of the COPs. In this week’s event, 161 Parties were present, confirming that most countries are committed to the UN public health treaty aimed at reducing death and disease caused by tobacco consumption. For the first time, the whole of COP9 was open to the media, who observed sessions where tobacco control measures were discussed between the Parties.
Dr. Adriana Blanco Marquizo said,
“This demonstrates the enormous power of this COP9 where 161 sovereign states debated for four and a half days, and by consensus decided which topics they wanted to decide upon in this session, and which others they want to defer to COP 10.”
Read more...
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COP10 and MOP3 to be held in Panama in 2023
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Latest WHO publications on tobacco
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WHO Global Investment Case for Tobacco Cessation
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A new document released by the World Health Organisation outlines the methodology used in analyzing the return on investment of selected tobacco cessation interventions. The objective of this document is to describe the methodology used to build a model that estimates the return on investment (ROI) of tobacco cessation programmes.
The report "It’s time to invest in cessation: the global investment case for tobacco cessation" also provides a summary of the results and includes the sources and studies used in the analysis.
Read the full document here...
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The fourth edition of the WHO Report on trends of prevalence in tobacco use 2000-2025
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The fourth edition of the WHO global report on trends in the prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025, has been released!
The document highlights the progress in reducing tobacco use as a key indicator for measuring countries’ efforts to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – target 3.a under the Sustainable Development Goals agenda.
The document also shows that there are 1.30 billion tobacco users globally compared to 1.32 billion in 2015. This number is expected to drop to 1.27 billion by 2025. Sixty countries are now on track to achieving the voluntary global target of a 30% reduction in tobacco use between 2010 and 2025: two years ago only 32 countries were on track. |
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Millions of lives have been saved by effective and comprehensive tobacco control policies under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and MPOWER – a great achievement in the fight against the tobacco epidemic. In the light of the WHO estimations of tobacco use prevalence and trends projected to 2025, the WHO urges countries to invest more in cessation programmes and better help people quit smoking.
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Civil society's concern about tobacco industry sponsorship of the European Business Summit 2021
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On 15 November 2021, a group of civil society organisations have written a letter to the Honourable Commission Vice-Presidents, Commissioners, Directors-General, European Commission officials, to express their concern about their reported involvement in the event European Business Summit 2021 edition titled "Building a more sustainable, digital and resilient Union" and to respectfully ask the representatives to withdraw your participation from it.
As the event is organised in partnership with Japan Tobacco International (JTI), the participants representing the European Commission in this event goes against the EU's legal obligations and principles enshrined in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
Moreover, the group of NGOs mentioned its concern that this participation will create an unwanted precedent and will mislead the public opinion into believing that it might support the industry's actions:
"This is why we write to respectfully request your support by withdrawing your participation in this event and not contributing to the appearance of respectability for a disreputable industry. In turn, we pledge to stay vigilant in the defence of international law concerning tobacco industry interference and we will continue to warn all relevant parties around the world of the dangerous implications of engagement with the tobacco industry.
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The letter was featured in the euobserver article "EU officials urged to boycott event with tobacco partnership" published this morning.
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"Harm-reduction" maintains the global tobacco epidemic
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The opinion on tobacco harm reduction prepared by A Non Smoking Generation, Sweden, for the delegates of the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the WHO FCTC, was published in The Brussels Times. |
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Among 40+ signatories ENSP and many of its members called on policymakers to acknowledge nicotine addiction – in all forms – as a threat to global sustainable development, and to protect the future of the world´s young generation.
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22 November: Interference of the Tobacco Industry: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
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For a long time, the tobacco industry has been interfering in tobacco control policies at the local, regional, and global level by means of varied tactics. These aggressive tactics try to undermine the public health efforts including the WHO FCTC and include, as described by WHO, maneuvering to hijack the political and legislative process; exaggerating the economic importance of the industry; manipulating public opinion to gain the appearance of respectability; fabricating support through front groups; discrediting proven science and intimidating governments with litigation or the threat of litigation.
Several of these tactics have been used again in La Graciosa, a small island in the Canary Islands (Spain), that was declared as a "smoke-free island" in a campaign sponsored by Philip Morris International. The case of this small island of 11 square miles and with 700 inhabitants has prompted this webinar, aimed at reviewing how the tobacco industry continues to be a threat to public health. An international panel of experts will provide a perspective of tobacco industry interference, review what happened in La Graciosa, the reaction of the tobacco control movement, and the implications for local and global tobacco control.
Live translation will be provided in Spanish and English.
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30 November: Tobacco, Smoking and Vaping in the context of COVID-19
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The COVID-19 pandemic affected all areas of public health and had caused much controversy among experts, authorities, and the general public. Nearly 2 years after the start of this pandemic, many factors have changed, including smoking behavior and the tobacco industry's response to the pandemic. All these factors ultimately influenced the outcomes of many studies. With over 3 million deaths from COVID-19 and over 8 million deaths from tobacco use, it is important to understand the link between the two.
Therefore, on 30 November 2021, from 13:00 to 14:30 CET, within the 2021 Online Edition of European Conference on Tobacco Control, the ENSP organizes the webinar “Tobacco, Smoking and Vaping in the context of COVID-19”, a webinar that will gather multiple case studies aiming to showcase the role of smoking in the pandemic, observed in different places from Europe and beyond. This symposium will try to clarify the evolution of smoking and vaping during the pandemic, from smoking patterns and the vaping situation to COVID-19 mortality rate due to tobacco consumption and in general, all in light of the tobacco industry's responses to these problems.
Register now for the webinar and learn more about a challenging topic! The final agenda will be published soon! |
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Join the ENSP International hackathon "End tobacco use for beating cancer" on 3-4 December
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To identify and support the best practices to challenge the cancer crisis caused by tobacco use, ENSP is organizing a hackathon with the support of Activize Health and FreshBlood HealthTech which will look to define new and effective ideas to reduce tobacco use and beat cancer.
End tobacco use for beating cancer is an International hackathon open to everyone and will take place online on 3 - 4 December 2021 and will facilitate mentorship sessions with various experts on the critical role of innovation and health in order to build strong teams and develop sustainable solutions. Mentors will be available during the hackathon to provide expert insight on content, strategy, and presentation techniques. The event will be fully virtual, targeting international participants and the teams can be made up of individuals from different countries or groups. Solo participants are also invited to register and will be matched with a team for the duration of the competition.
The prizes from ENSP for the best three ideas will be a total monetary of 3500 euro: 2000 euro to 1st prize; 1000 euro to second prize; 500 euro to the third prize. Moreover, the winning teams will have the opportunity to be invited to take part in the next ENSP projects and benefit from continuous guidance regarding their business idea.
Registrations for the Hackathon can be made here for teams and here for individuals until December 1st, 2021 - 23.59 CET after which the submissions will be evaluated and the organisers will contact the selected teams and individuals.
Join us as we develop innovative solutions to end tobacco use and beat cancer!
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Call for External Evaluator
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The European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) invites interested and experienced candidates to apply for the position of External Evaluator to carry out an external evaluation of activities relating to the implementation of the ENSP work programme 2021.
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Time frame & Methods
The evaluation will look at activities run throughout the year 2021, and the actual work will be carried out between mid-December 2021 and mid-January 2022.
Methods to be used can include desk research of ENSP documents and materials, face-to-face & telephone interviews, questionnaires, web-based polls, and other tools that are appropriate for the specific indicator. The first draft report will be delivered to ENSP Secretariat by 15 January 2022.
The candidature for external evaluator 2021
The responses to the call should address the following:
- Proposal for the scope of the external evaluation of ENSP for the period of January-December 2021
- Overview of your approach to the evaluation and the desired methodology to be used
- Proposal for data gathering during the period
- Timeline
- A detailed quotation
Submission of applications
Please submit your offer electronically by 1st December 2021 to cornel.radu@ensp.org
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Maximizing Transparency in the lead up to COP9 and MOP2
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Check out the full recording of a webinar on the milestones and challenges in maximizing transparency before the COP9 and MOP2 meetings. Experts discuss how governments can counter tobacco industry interference before the meetings begin. Learn more about the background on industry inference at the global tobacco treaty meetings, strategies for how governments can maximize transparency decisions, and Big Tobacco’s harm reduction argument — a key industry tactic.
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ENSP side event during COP9 of the WHO FCTC on implementation of Art. 9 and 10
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On 9 November 2021, from 13:00 to 14:00 CET, ENSP organised a side event during COP9 of the WHO FCTC on Implementation of Articles 9 and 10. Under Articles 9 and 10 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), Parties are called to regulate contents and disclosure of tobacco products. A key element entails prohibiting or restricting ingredients that may be used to increase palatability in tobacco products, including flavourings.
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The latest publications in the TPC Journal:
Krzysztof Przewoźniak, Christina N. Kyriakos, Rosemary Hiscock, Cornel Radu-Loghin, Geoffrey T. Fong
Melinda Pénzes, Renata Solimini, Francisco M. Ruiz-Dominguez, Tamás Joó, Constantine I. Vardavas, Panagiotis Behrakis
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Do you have an event coming up or content to promote?
Would you like to share your best practices or inform about local initiatives?
Share your work and promote you activities among 2.400+ colleagues in Europe and around the globe via
The Network - ENSP monthly newsletter |
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