In March, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and travelled to Abu Dhabi to provide the patient perspective during the World Conference on Tobacco or Health. In this section you will also get updated about the European Parliament initiative to fight the tobacco lobby and the latest steps towards tobacco plain packaging. Our role at the World Conference on Tobacco or Health Tobacco kills one person every six seconds in the world. New data finds out that two out of three smokers will die from a disease caused by tobacco and tobacco is the only risk factor that is common to all four major chronic diseases (cardiovascular, chronic respiratory, diabetes and cancer). For this reason, the theme of the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health, organised in Abu Dhabi from 17-21 March, focused on the link between Tobacco and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). This year, to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the WHO FCTC, a special session was dedicated to the achievements in tobacco control due to the Convention and to the gaps that need to be filled. The new edition of the Tobacco Atlas was presented and EFA was acknowledged as contributor for the chapter on the health consequences of tobacco use and exposure. Sessions on plain packaging, electronic cigarettes and the increased use of waterpipes, especially by youth, caught the attention of more than 3,000 delegates that attended the conference from all around the world. 
Our partner, the European Network for Tobacco and Smoking Prevention (ENSP) organised a symposium on smokefree environments from the human rights perspective to explore the theme of tobacco control from another aspect, a policy that is already in used in the United States and other parts of the world, but still not in Europe. Roberta Savli, EFA Senior EU Policy Advisor, gave a presentation on the rights of patients not be exposed to secondhand smoke. The final declaration of the conference highlighted the need to continue the fight against tobacco with fifteen clear recommendations to be achieved by the next world conference, which will be organised in South Africa in 2018. The videos of the main sessions are available in the conference channel. WHO FCTC: 10 years of success! On 27February, the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) celebrated its 10th anniversary, a milestone marking a decade of action to curb the global tobacco epidemic and promote public health. The FCTC is the first international treaty negotiated under the WHO’s auspices and has become one of the fastest treaties endorsed by the United Nations to date, with 180 Parties, covering 90% of the world’s population. During the past decade, the WHO FCTC has enabled Parties to make many significant achievements in tobacco control, including the following:
- 80% of countries have strengthened their tobacco control legislation since becoming Parties;
- The cost of a packet of cigarettes has, on average, increased by 150% among Parties;
- There has been a great increase in the use of graphic health warnings – such warnings cover 75–85% of cigarette packages in many countries and plain packaging initiatives are increasing;
- Many countries have banned smoking in indoor and outdoor public spaces, which has helped to ensure that smoking is no longer seen as socially acceptable;
- Some Parties have set the explicit goal of becoming “tobacco free” (with less than 5% prevalence of tobacco use), including Finland, Ireland and New Zealand, and the Pacific Island countries.
Full implementation of the WHO FCTC would support global commitments to achieving a 25% reduction in premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by 2025, including a 30% reduction in the prevalence of tobacco use in persons aged 15 years and over. To know more about the treaty, please visit the WHO website. European Parliament mobilises against the tobacco lobby Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have taken a significant step forward in fighting the tobacco lobby. A cross-party working group has been set up in the European Parliament to counterbalance the growing influence of tobacco companies. The leading MEP for this group is the ENVI Chair MEP Gilles Pargneaux (S&D, France). The main focus of the group will be to make sure the tobacco products directive is implemented in all Member States. The new rules were adopted by the Parliament in March 2014, and include banning flavoured cigarettes, apply stricter measures for e-cigarettes and increase the health warnings on cigarettes packaging. In addition, the group will take steps to combate contraband, counterfeiting and cross-border shopping of tobacco and to protect public health policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry. Ireland adopts tobacco plain packaging 
In March, Ireland became the first European country to pass laws banning branded cigarette packets. All tobacco products sold in the Republic of Ireland will be commercialised in a standard dark-coloured wrapper with large health warnings and images of smoking-related diseases. The plain packs should appear in Irish shops by May 2017. In this sense, former Health Minister James Reilly, currently Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, gave a key note speech in the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Abu Dhabi on the situation in Ireland. At EFA we also call on other European countries that are considering plain packaging, such as Norway, the United Kingdom and France, to follow Ireland pathway.