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• Nations from the Region of the Americas Collaborate to Save Lives and Reduce Economic Losses by Cracking Down on Illicit Tobacco Trade 

Representatives from 35 countries are gathering in Montevideo, Uruguay on December 5, 2007 to work on knowledge-gathering and skill-sharing on the illicit trade of tobacco -- a global crime that contributes to higher rates of tobacco-related disease and death, helps finance criminal and terrorist groups, and robs governments of $US billions in revenue.

The December meeting of American Region delegates is a working conference to prepare for the upcoming meeting in Geneva in February 2008 when representatives of 151 countries will begin negotiations on the international protocol aimed at eliminating illicit tobacco trade. Combating illicit trade is a key provision of the world's first international public health treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization.

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