WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was signed in 2005 and has contributed a falling global average of smoking by 2.5 percent in the last 10 years.

In a new study published in the scientific journal The Lancet, researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO) writes that while progress towards the “global tobacco epidemic” has been significant, it is still to reach its the target set in 2005.

FCTC was signed by 180 countries and was meant to impose high tobacco taxes, smoke-free public places, warning signs, comprehensive advertising bans and support for smokers who want to quit.

In the study, researchers analyzed the WHO data from 126 countries, of which 116 have signed the FCTC. The researchers noted that smoking has on average declined to 22.2 percent in 2015 from 24.7 percent a decade earlier. Smoking has fallen in 90 countries, increased in 24 and is unchanged in 12 of the countries surveyed.

The researchers saw the greatest reduction in smoking in those countries that fully implemented the five requirements of the Convention.

The study cannot provide a complete global picture of smoking in the world since only 65 percent of countries had data needed for the analysis, but the study includes countries from all income levels and regions, according to the researchers.

Reference:
Shannon Gravely, Gary A Giovino, Lorraine Craig et al. Implementation of key demand-reduction measures of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and change in smoking prevalence in 126 countries: an association study DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(17)30045-2