VOL. 65, NO. 2 Mars – March 2006 - AAFI-AFICS, Geneva - UNOG

WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATIONJeremiah R. D. Lengoasa of South Africa has been appointed Assistant Secretary-General of the WorldMeteorological Organization. He had been CEO of the South African Weather Service and was PermanentRepresentative of his country with WMO since 2003. (Amicale de l’OMM Bulletin).WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION►►►◄◄Smokers need not applyWHO recently decided that it would no longer recruit smokers, and would even – apparently – dismiss staffmembers who started to smoke again. This has created much controversy not only within the organization.A few lawyers and newspapers have criticized this decision as a breach of human rights conventions. Thosewho do approve consider that this is coherent with WHO's battle against tobacco smoking and the promotionof the Global Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.Roberto Masironi, former Coordinator, WHO « Tobacco or Health Programme », summarizes below WHO'swork on the organization’s fight against tobacco smoking. Roberto is now President, European MedicalAssociation on Smoking or Health, and Vice President, Association of Former WHO Staff Members.“Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world, killing nearly 5 million people every year. Ifcurrent trends continue, this toll will double by 2020. Developing countries will suffer the highest burden with70% of the deaths” according to a recent statement by the WHO Director-General. Tobacco mortality andmorbidity have been estimated to cause an annual global net loss of US$ 200 billion in health-care costs andlost productivity. Against this dark background the WHO has been leading, since the early 1970s, an uphillworldwide struggle against the spreading of the tobacco pandemic.Luckily, after much hesitation, governments have finally understood the danger of tobacco smoking to thehealth and the economy of their countries. The process started with World Health Assembly resolution WHA49.17 of May 1996. After numerous negotiation meetings of representatives of all WHO member states, theFramework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was unanimously adopted on 21 May 2003. History wasmade, as for the first time in its 55 years of existence the WHO has applied article 19 of its Constitutionwhich reads: “The Health Assembly shall have authority to adopt conventions or agreement with respect toany matter within the competence of the Organization”.The Convention has provisions that set forth international minimum standards on tobacco-related issuessuch as tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, taxation and price measures, packaging andlabelling, illicit tobacco trade and protection of non-smokers, especially children, from second-hand smoke.These provisions are designed to guide governments, which are free to legislate at higher thresholds ifdesired.Following its adoption, FCTC required ratification by only 40 governments to enter into force and become alegally binding document. The good news is that, at present, as many as 115 governments have ratified it,thus signifying how important FCTC really is. FCTC is now a law and, according to WHO, “the world has anevidence-based tool to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social,environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke”.The AAFI-AFICS Bulletin does not intend to take part in this debate but we will be happy to publish lettersfrom our readers – former staff members of WHO or other organizations – who might want to express eithersupport or indignation, in the interest of freedom of the press.31