Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) made important advances this week to fight tobacco, the world’s leading single preventable cause of death.

The tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the WHO FCTC took place from 5 to 10 February 2024 in Panama City, Panama, the first in-person session of the COP in six years.

COP10 featured a packed agenda, and the COP adopted a number of important decisions. Our key highlights from a legal perspective include:

• Human rights – the COP adopted a decision recognising the link between human rights and tobacco control, which “encourages parties to consider including WHO FCTC principles and implementation efforts when engaging with UN human rights mechanisms”, and requests the Convention Secretariat to collaborate with UN human rights agencies to raise awareness of the importance of WHO FCTC implementation in the realisation of human rights.
• Liability – the COP established an expert group to examine liability of the tobacco industry, to better support parties to implement article 19 of the Convention.
• Forward-looking tobacco control measures – The COP established an expert group to examine “forward-looking tobacco control measures” in the context of article 2.1. The expert group will examine measures, including regulatory measures, that parties can take to further the implementation of article 2.1, which encourages parties to implement measures going beyond those required by this Convention and its protocols in order to better protect human health.
• Environment - The COP adopted a decision recognising links between tobacco and the environment, which urges Parties to “take into account the environmental impacts from cultivation, manufacture, consumption and waste disposal of tobacco products and related electronic devices”, encourages parties to implement and requests the Secretariat to examine regulatory options to deal with waste from tobacco products, and encourages parties to implement related obligations in relation to worker’s rights and the environment.
• Tobacco in entertainment media – the COP adopted additional guidelines on tobacco in entertainment media, which will provide valuable supplementary guidance to the Article 13 implementation guidelines in relation to entertainment media, including new digital media.

The COP also adopted a number of decisions to strengthen the treaty’s institutions and implementation. Most notably:

• The COP extended its Global Strategy to Accelerate Tobacco Control from 2025 to 2030, meaning that the objectives of supporting parties to implement tobacco control measures such as tax, smoke-free laws, graphic health warnings, and bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship will remain key priorities until 2030.
• The COP also adopted a simplified reporting instrument, which will streamline reporting requirements with the reporting for WHO’s Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic and other external sources of data so as to reduce the reporting burden on Parties.
• The COP also adopted a Voluntary Implementation Peer Review and Support Mechanism, which will provide an independent peer review of parties’ implementation of their WHO FCTC obligations and link them to further support.
• The COP also adopted a number of decisions relating to its operations, including adoption of its workplan and budget, amendments to its rules of procedure, streamlining of the oversight committee for its investment fund, and various procedural decisions.

Finally, as is customary at a COP hosted by a Party, the COP adopted the Panama Declaration where the Parties reaffirmed their commitment to the WHO FCTC and its implementation.

Unfortunately, a decision on article 9 and 10, which relate to the regulation of contents and disclosure of tobacco products, was deferred to COP11 due to parties being unable to reach a consensus in time.

The COP’s decisions will be published in the coming weeks, but draft decisions are available in the reports of the COP committees.

The COP’s work took place against a backdrop of heavy tobacco industry interference, with numerous tobacco industry affiliated entities running campaigns or events parallel to COP.

We participated in the COP in our capacity as Knowledge Hub on legal challenges to implementation of the Convention, as a member of the Union for International Cancer Control delegation. We were delighted to co-organise a side event and a Marketplace booth introducing the work of the Knowledge Hubs to parties.

We were also pleased to see the strong representation of alumni of our International Legal Training Program on COP delegations. McCabe Centre alumni took leadership roles including President of the COP, Bureau Members and Regional Coordinators, and Heads of Delegation for their Parties.

Hayley Jones, Director of the McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer which hosts the WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub on Legal Challenges, says: "COP10 shows more than ever the importance of using law to address the enormous burden of preventable death, disease and suffering caused by tobacco. We are glad to see parties recognise the importance of legal issues in tobacco control, and are here to support parties to use the law effectively to address the global tobacco epidemic.”

The COP will be followed by the Meeting of the Parties of the Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, a protocol of the WHO FCTC. We wish the parties to the Protocol on Illicit Trade a productive MOP and look forward to working together to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, economic and environmental consequences of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke.

The work of our Knowledge Hub and our participation in COP is supported by the Australian Government.