Episode 1 – Framework Convention for Tobacco Control: Global Perspectives from the WHO

The first episode of The Global Health Histories Podcast , hosted by Sanjoy Bhattacharya (Head of the School of History and Professor of Medical and Global Heath Histories at the University of Leeds) features a discussion on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the first international treaty negotiated under the WHO's Article 19 powers. Speakers include Kate Lannan (senior lawyer at the WHO FCTC Secretariat), Doug Bettcher (senior advisor to the WHO Director-General), Hebe Gouda (epidemiologist leading the WHO global tobacco epidemic report), and Alison Commar (demographer monitoring global tobacco prevalence). They highlight the FCTC's role in reducing global tobacco use, with adult prevalence dropping from 33% in 2000 to 21% in 2022, and discuss the MPOWER technical package, which outlines effective tobacco control measures. The conversation also addresses ongoing challenges, such as tobacco industry interference, and emphasises the need for continued global collaboration, enforcement of tobacco control policies, and civil society support to combat the tobacco epidemic, which still claims 8 million lives annually. In 2025, its 20th year the FCTC is celebrated as a vital tool for public health, environmental protection, and economic sustainability.

Additional links

Centre for Global Health Histories

https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/dir-record/research-groups/1880/centre-for-global-health-histories

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

https://fctc.who.int/

The Internationalisation of Tobacco Control, 1950-2010 by David Reubi & Virginia Berridge (Cambridge University Press)

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/medical-history/article/internationalisation-of-tobacco-control-19502010/F3C0B3C0ABDCD14041627808828ABD43