On 3 and 4 February, EU Commissioners Poul Nielson and David Byrne will host a Round Table on tobacco control and development policy. The meeting, which takes place in Centre Borschette in Brussels, is organised in cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO), which will be represented by its Director General Gro Harlem Brundtland, and the World Bank.
Smoking in developing countries is something of a ticking bomb. Each day, more than 6,500 people die in developing countries due to tobacco consumption. This figure is estimated to triple over the next 20 years.
The main purpose of the meeting is to show that EC development cooperation offers effective ways of addressing tobacco control. Leading experts in the field will also give an overview of the negative health impact of growing tobacco consumption in developing countries as well as the economics of addressing this issue.
The Round Table takes place only weeks before the next round of negotiations on a global legal document - a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control - start in Geneva. WHO, the World Bank and the European Commission hope that this negotiation round will be able to finalise a text which can then be signed by governments later this spring.
Tobacco Control and Development Policy (EC Programme)
Tobacco Control in EC Development Policy (EC background paper)
Tobacco & Health in the Developing World (WHO background paper)
The Economics of Tobacco Use & Tobacco Control in the Developing World (World Bank background paper)
Speech of Annette DIXON, World Bank Director, Human development sector Europe and Central Asia Region
Speech of Andrew Pendleton, Campaigns Journalist, Christian Aid