Tobacco body cutback fears

Published on 17/11/2012 12:00

Proposed funding cuts within the international body responsible for tobacco control will leave the world’s poorest countries more vulnerable to smoking-related diseases, a study has suggested.

The World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is considering cutting its funding for delegates from poorer countries to attend meetings.

The cuts – supported by the EU, Canada, and Australia – would undermine the representation of those countries most at risk, research led by Edinburgh University has claimed.

Professor Jeff Collin of the university, who led the study, said: “The cost of supporting developing countries’ participation in the FCTC is tiny compared with the catastrophic impacts of tobacco in these countries.”