The Global War on Tobacco: Mapping the World's First Public Health Treaty

by Heather Wipfli

Overview

The first in-depth review of the World Health Organization’s groundbreaking Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

The tobacco industry has capitalized on numerous elements of globalization—including trade liberalization, foreign direct investment, and global communications—to expand into countries where effective tobacco control programs are not in place. As a consequence, tobacco is currently the leading cause of preventable death in the world. Each year, it kills more people than HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

Amid evidence of an emerging pandemic, a committed group of public health professionals and institutions sought in the mid-1990s to challenge the tobacco industry’s expansion by negotiating a binding international law under the auspices of the World Health Organization. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)—the first collective global response to the causation of avoidable chronic disease—was one of the most quickly ratified treaties in United Nations history. In The Global War on Tobacco, Heather Wipfli tells the engaging story of the FCTC, from its start as an unlikely civil society proposal to its enactment in 178 countries as of June 2014. Wipfli also reveals how globalization offers anti-tobacco advocates significant cooperative opportunities to share knowledge and address cross-border public health problems.

The book—the first to delve deeply into the origin and development of the FCTC—seeks to advance understanding of how non-state actors, transnational networks, and international institutionalization can impact global governance for health. Case studies from a variety of diverse high-, middle-, and low-income countries provide real-world examples of the success or failure of tobacco control. Aimed at public health professionals and students, The Global War on Tobacco is a fascinating look at how international relations is changing to respond to the modern global marketplace and protect human health.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421416830
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	07/31/2015
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Heather Wipfli is the associate director of the University of Southern California Institute for Global Health.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

List of Abbreviations xi

1 A World Connected by Cigarettes and Disease 1

Part I The Global Tale

2 One Hundred Years in the Making 11

3 Those Who Want and Those Who Do Not… The FCTC Negotiations 35

4 With Force: The First Decade of FCTC Implementation 62

Part II National Experiences

5 The FCTC in Thailand: In Search of Solidarity 93

6 The FCTC in Uruguay: Igniting a Global Leader 115

7 The FCTC in Germany: An Island of Resistance 134

8 The FCTC in China: The "Responsible" Resistor 156

9 Conclusion 177

Appendix: Ratification of the FCTC 185

Notes 189

Index 219

What People are Saying About This

Jonathan M. Samet

The landmark Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is the World Health Organization’s first public health treaty. As an 'insider' at WHO as the treaty was developed, Wipfli captures the negotiations involved. Her case studies lend insight into the struggles between FCTC advocates and national politics as well as the tobacco industry. This engaging book should be read by everyone working in tobacco control and all those who view the FCTC as a model for other global threats to health.

Frank J. Chaloupka IV

The Global War on Tobacco is a major contribution not just to tobacco control research but also to research on global governance and public health. A thorough and well-documented scholarly effort. Wipfli tells the story of the FCTC in a compelling way, making the book read like a page-turning thriller.

From the Publisher

The Global War on Tobacco is a major contribution not just to tobacco control research but also to research on global governance and public health. A thorough and well-documented scholarly effort. Wipfli tells the story of the FCTC in a compelling way, making the book read like a page-turning thriller.
—Frank J. Chaloupka IV, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois–Chicago

Heather Wipfli has captured the purpose driven approach to WHO's first treaty. She documents the role of epidemiology in sounding the alarm and the power of sustained leadership needed to overcome powerful political obstacles to promote health. This book will inspire the next generation of health leaders to do even more.
—Derek Yach, Vitality Institute and first World Health Organization Director of the Tobacco Free Initiative

The landmark Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is the World Health Organization’s first public health treaty. As an 'insider' at WHO as the treaty was developed, Wipfli captures the negotiations involved. Her case studies lend insight into the struggles between FCTC advocates and national politics as well as the tobacco industry. This engaging book should be read by everyone working in tobacco control and all those who view the FCTC as a model for other global threats to health.
—Jonathan M. Samet, MD, MS, Keck School of Medicine and Institute for Global Health, University of Southern California

Derek Yach

Heather Wipfli has captured the purpose driven approach to WHO's first treaty. She documents the role of epidemiology in sounding the alarm and the power of sustained leadership needed to overcome powerful political obstacles to promote health. This book will inspire the next generation of health leaders to do even more.

Editorial Reviews

This is a unique, aptly titled book.
—Choice

It is a thorough and yet succinct analysis of the forces and trends that led to the negotiation of the FCTC and the treaty’s immediate results—both intended and unintended.
—Bulletin of the History of Medicine

From the Publisher

It is a thorough and yet succinct analysis of the forces and trends that led to the negotiation of the FCTC and the treaty’s immediate results—both intended and unintended.

Bulletin of the History of Medicine

This is a unique, aptly titled book.

Choice