Global meeting to combat illicit trade concludes with decisive action

By Hamu Madzedze

The third session of the Meeting of Parties (MOP3) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products held this week took a decisive action to combat illicit trade in tobacco products which harms the health and robs national governments of tax revenues which could support public health initiatives.

World Health Organisation Head of Secretariat for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Dr Adriana Blanco Marquizo said parties who attended the meeting agreed on the importance of tobacco tracking and tracing systems and approved a road map to conduct evidence based research on illicit trade of tobacco.

"We also agreed on improvements for the reporting system our parties use with the aim to strengthen the quality of data on implementation of the Protocol that will help guide future tobacco control efforts" said Dr Marquizo.

Illicit trade accounts for about 11% of total global tobacco trade and its elimination could increase global tax revenue by an estimated 47 billion united states annually.

The meeting of the parties is the governing body of the protocol which is an international treaty that entered into force in 2018 and aims to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products through a number of measures to be taken by countries acting in cooperation with one another.