{"id":4274,"date":"2023-05-19T01:54:13","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T22:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/?p=4274"},"modified":"2024-03-07T01:55:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T22:55:00","slug":"anticipated-ratification-who-protocol-on-elimination-of-illegal-tobacco-trade-expected-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/2023\/05\/19\/anticipated-ratification-who-protocol-on-elimination-of-illegal-tobacco-trade-expected-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Anticipated Ratification: WHO Protocol on Elimination of Illegal Tobacco Trade Expected in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Anticipated Ratification: WHO Protocol on Elimination of Illegal Tobacco Trade Expected in 2023<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As part of its European integration obligations to combat tobacco, Ukraine must ratify a key legal act, the Protocol on the Elimination of Illegal Tobacco Trade. Ratifying this Protocol holds significant importance as it provides a solid foundation for harmonizing Ukrainian legislation with EU standards concerning the fight against the illegal circulation of tobacco products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tobacco, being the only legal product that causes the death of half of its users, poses a severe global health threat. Annually, over 8 million people worldwide, including 1.2 million non-smokers, lose their lives due to tobacco-related effects. Illegal trade exacerbates the situation by facilitating access to cheaper tobacco products, thereby fueling the tobacco use epidemic and undermining anti-tobacco policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodrigo Santos Feijo, the program manager of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Secretariat, emphasized the urgency of combating illegal tobacco trade during a working meeting on Ukraine’s accession to the Protocol. The Protocol focuses on three key areas to combat contraband and counterfeit tobacco products, including the implementation of measures to ensure control over supply chains and the establishment of a global product traceability regime. By ratifying the Protocol, Ukraine can reinforce its commitment to combating the illegal tobacco trade, align its legislation with EU standards, and contribute to global efforts in reducing tobacco-related harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measures aimed at investigating, prosecuting, and penalizing illicit tobacco trade in accordance with national law are pivotal in the fight against offenses. Furthermore, international cooperation is essential in enhancing collaboration among Protocol parties, addressing technical, administrative, and legal aspects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maryna Slobodnichenko, Deputy Minister of Health for European Integration, emphasized the significance of combating tobacco smoking as a crucial aspect of the state’s priorities and a key component of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. Illegal tobacco trade, in particular, poses a critical challenge, resulting in substantial financial losses to the state budget. The Verkhovna Rada’s tax committee estimated that in 2022 alone, the state budget incurred losses of nearly 20 billion hryvnias due to illicit tobacco trade. Additionally, Ukraine expends over 3% of its GDP on treating smokers and providing compensation for work-related disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy Minister Slobodnichenko highlighted the unanimous support from relevant Central Committees regarding Ukraine’s ratification of the Protocol. Thus, the Ministry of Health, being the primary stakeholder in this process, will soon submit the corresponding draft law for approval. Notably, the Protocol on the Elimination of Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is an integral part of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world’s first international legal treaty in the realm of public health, to which Ukraine acceded in 2006. The Protocol, which came into force at the end of 2018, aims to eliminate all forms of illegal trade in tobacco products. Currently, 66 countries, including member states of the European Union, are parties to the Protocol, demonstrating a global commitment to tackling illicit tobacco trade<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anticipated Ratification: WHO Protocol on Elimination of Illegal Tobacco Trade Expected in 2023 As part of its European integration obligations to combat tobacco, Ukraine must ratify a key legal act, the Protocol on the Elimination of Illegal Tobacco Trade. Ratifying this Protocol holds significant importance as it provides a solid foundation for harmonizing Ukrainian legislation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[93,97,94],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4274"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4276,"href":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions\/4276"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ufmo.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}