Jump to full article: Lexington (KY) Business, 2010-09-01
Author: Tim Thornberry
Intro: The World Health Organization's (WHO) Switzerland headquarters is a far distance from the tobacco fields of Kentucky, but the agency is casting a long shadow over those fields as it prepares to pass guidelines that could affect cigarette content and interrupt a centuries-old industry.
The organization is the "directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system ... responsible for providing leadership on global health matters," according to information found on its website. One of its many priorities has been to stop the spread of disease thought to be caused by the use of tobacco.
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is a treaty adopted by the World Health Assembly on May 21, 2003, and "entered into force" on February 27, 2005. It has been ratified by approximately 168 countries to date. Tarik Jasarevic, convention secretariat, said in an e-mail response that a "Conference of the Parties (COP) establishes a number of working groups to elaborate guidelines and recommendations for implementation of different Articles of the WHO FCTC."
One of these working groups, Jasarevic said, works on Articles 9 and 10: "regulation of the contents of tobacco products" and "regulation of tobacco product disclosures." . . .
That session is scheduled for Nov. 15-20 in Uruguay. It is the language contained in Articles 9 and 10, among others, that have producers and state officials concerned. One of those guidelines would ban ingredients other than tobacco in cigarette production. If that happens, it could mean trouble for burley tobacco producers.
During the curing process, burley becomes harsh tasting, so manufacturers add ingredients and sometimes blend different types of tobacco to make cigarettes made with burley more pleasant to smokers.
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