A cardiologist who served as former president of the Philippine Heart Association and the Asia Pacific Society for Hypertension backed proposals to review the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) if it were to be used as a guide in the forging of a pandemic treaty.
Dr. Rafael Castillo said a review of the FCTC is crucial to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past as the World Health Organization is mulling the creation of a pandemic treaty.
He noted that the creation of a pandemic treaty, which was agreed by the World Health Assembly in 2021, was eyed to address the perceived failures of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The FCTC is a global treaty on tobacco control under the auspices of the World Health Organization and is governed by the “Conference of Parties” composed of representatives from all countries signatory to the agreement.
The convention is set to conduct its 10th biennial meet in November to discuss the progress of the treaty’s implementation and policy recommendation.
In a statement, Castillo said that the pandemic treaty should be more flexible than the FCTC, which not only failed to consider innovative solutions to the smoking problem, but also marginalized relevant stakeholders.
“The noble public health goal of the tobacco control treaty is to reduce cigarette-related deaths in adults, but it ignores the latest scientific and technological developments on smoke-free products that were developed to reduce smokers’ exposure to toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke. The FCTC is a cautionary tale and clearly shows what not to do for a global pandemic agreement,” he added.
Dr. Michael de Luca and Dr. Mario Ramirez sought the review of the FCTC.De Luca is a Disaster and Operational Medicine Fellow at the Department of Emergency Medicine of The George Washington University, while Ramirez is an Emergency Medicine Physician at the Department of Emergency Medicine of Inova Fairfax Hospital.
“Ultimately, WHO and the global public health community would benefit from understanding and addressing the critiques of the FCTC, which could perhaps serve as the closest structural model upon which to build a pandemic treaty,” they said.
They added that a pandemic treaty will be judged on how well it performed in reducing mortality and morbidity, social discord, and economic damage associated with an infectious disease threat.
A pandemic agreement, they said, should be flexible enough for future technological developments and novel approaches that would possibly include harm reduction provisions.
“Harm reduction methods have been applied successfully in other public health crises such as intravenous drug use and in infectious disease control, most notably with HIV/AIDS,” they said.
They also noted that the challenges to the FCTC should be addressed if it is to be used as a prototype for a pandemic treaty, such as harm reduction policies, private sector involvement and its impact in low and middle income countries.
De Luca and Ramirez said that the new pandemic treaty should be flexible to keep up with scientific developments, citing the FCTC’s treatment of novel tobacco products like heated tobacco and vapes, which studies conclude as less harmful compared to smoking.
“Reflecting on the results of studies assessing the impact of the FCTC, it is essential that a pandemic treaty prioritize measures relevant to low and middle-income countries and support sustainable technical and financial assistance to implement these measures,” they said.
Source: The Manila Times By Red Mendoza
May 11, 2023
Review tobacco treaty first before discussing pandemic treaty – experts | The Manila Times