History of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

The history of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is public health history in the making. As the first global health treaty negotiated under the auspices of the WHO, the FCTC has given a new legal dimension to international health cooperation. Following its adoption by the World Health Assembly in May 2003, it has become one of the most widely embraced treaties in the United Nations history, with, by the end of 2009, 168 Parties.