The fact that Switzerland has yet to have ratified the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and is hosting its conference is shameful, a top WHO official has declared. “I think this is more of a shame than a problem that Switzerland is not party to the treaty, as this is all about protecting the public health of the population,” the head of the FCTC Secretariat, Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, told reporters at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva on Friday. State representatives, experts and other officials are set to gather in Geneva from October 1 for two important global tobacco treaty conferences to discuss further measures to reduce smoking globally and to eliminate the illegal trade in tobacco products. Switzerland signed the FCTC in 2004 but has not ratified it, partly due to recent changes to a draft law on tobacco products and specific issues related to advertising and sponsorship. But it is not alone. Switzerland is one ...
