THE PARTIES TO THIS CONVENTION,

DETERMINED to give priority to their right to protect public health,

RECOGNISING that the spread of the tobacco epidemic is a global problem with serious consequences for public health that calls for the widest possible international cooperation and the participation of all countries in an effective, appropriate and comprehensive international response,

REFLECTING the concern of the international community about the devastating worldwide health, social, economic and environmental consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke,

SERIOUSLY CONCERNED about the increase in the worldwide consumption and production of cigarettes and other tobacco products, particularly in developing countries, as well as about the burden this places on families, on the poor, and on national health systems,

RECOGNISING that scientific evidence has unequivocally established that tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke cause death, disease and disability, and that there is a time lag between the exposure to smoking and the other uses of tobacco products and the onset of tobacco-related diseases,

RECOGNISING also that cigarettes and some other products containing tobacco are highly engineered so as to create and maintain dependence, and that many of the compounds they contain and the smoke they produce are pharmacologically active, toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic, and that tobacco dependence is separately classified as a disorder in major international classifications of diseases,

ACKNOWLEDGING that there is clear scientific evidence that prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke causes adverse health and developmental conditions for children,

DEEPLY CONCERNED about the escalation in smoking and other forms of tobacco consumption by children and adolescents worldwide, particularly smoking at increasingly early ages,

ALARMED by the increase in smoking and other forms of tobacco consumption by women and young girls worldwide and keeping in mind the need for full participation of women at all levels of policy making and implementation and the need for gender-specific tobacco control strategies,

DEEPLY CONCERNED about the high levels of smoking and other forms of tobacco consumption by indigenous peoples,

SERIOUSLY CONCERNED about the impact of all forms of advertising, promotion and sponsorship aimed at encouraging the use of tobacco products,

RECOGNISING that cooperative action is necessary to eliminate all forms of illicit trade in cigarettes and other tobacco products, including smuggling, illicit manufacturing and counterfeiting,

ACKNOWLEDGING that tobacco control at all levels and particularly in developing countries and in countries with economies in transition requires sufficient financial and technical resources commensurate with the current and projected need for tobacco control activities,

RECOGNISING the need to develop appropriate mechanisms to address the long-term social and economic implications of successful tobacco demand reduction strategies,

MINDFUL of the social and economic difficulties that tobacco control programmes may engender in the medium and long term in some developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and recognising their need for technical and financial assistance in the context of nationally developed strategies for sustainable development,

CONSCIOUS of the valuable work being conducted by many States on tobacco control and commending the leadership of the World Health Organisation as well as the efforts of other organisations and bodies of the United Nations system and other international and regional intergovernmental organisations in developing measures on tobacco control,

EMPHASISING the special contribution of nongovernmental organisations and other members of civil society not affiliated with the tobacco industry, including health professional bodies, women's, youth, environmental and consumer groups, and academic and health care institutions, to tobacco control efforts nationally and internationally and the vital importance of their participation in national and international tobacco control efforts,

RECOGNISING the need to be alert to any efforts by the tobacco industry to undermine or subvert tobacco control efforts and the need to be informed of activities of the tobacco industry that have a negative impact on tobacco control efforts,

RECALLING Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966, which states that it is the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,

RECALLING also the preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organisation, which states that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition,

DETERMINED to promote measures of tobacco control based on current and relevant scientific, technical and economic considerations,

RECALLING that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 1979, provides that States Parties to that Convention shall take appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care,

RECALLING further that the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 November 1989, provides that States Parties to that Convention recognise the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS: