Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 5 March (HC Deb, cols. 1078–1079), what assessment they have made of the success of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) 2030 project in accelerating the implementation of strong tobacco control policies and advancing sustainable development in low-and middle-income countries; whether, in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the countries participating in the FCTC 2030 project will be given more time to implement the project; and whether official development funds will be made available beyond 2021 to support low-and middle-income countries to implement the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Answered by Lord Bethell
As a world leader in tobacco control, the Government is continuing to deliver its commitments under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control 2030 project. The countries receiving support continue to make good progress in strengthening their tobacco control measures.
The five-year project is in its final year and scheduled to end in March 2021. Year 5 (2020/21) objectives have been set and the project delivery revised to take account of the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
No decision has been made on whether Official Development Assistance funding will be made available to support the project beyond the original commitment of March 2021.
Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of smoking rates in low- and middle-income countries and how those rates are predicted to evolve over the next century; and how they take such rates into account in awarding development funding.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government recognises the significant impact of tobacco use in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Tobacco use is the world’s single most preventable cause of disease and the number of tobacco users is increasing in LMICs. If current patterns of use persist, tobacco will kill about 1 billion people in the 21st Century. Evidence indicates that by 2030, over 80% of the world’s tobacco-related mortality will be in LMICs.
Tobacco use is also a major barrier to sustainable development. A major driver of social inequities, tobacco use imposes significant social, economic and environmental harm on individuals, families and national economies.
Given the recognised impact of tobacco on international development, the United Kingdom Government is funding a project to strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, using official development assistance funds. Through this project, we will share the UK’s experience in tobacco control to support LMICs to save lives by putting effective measures in place to stop people using tobacco.
Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of tobacco use on international development as well as on public health.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government recognises the significant impact of tobacco use on international development.
Tobacco use is the world’s single most preventable cause of disease. If current patterns of use persist, tobacco will kill about 1 billion people in the 21st century. Evidence indicates that by 2030, over 80% of the world’s tobacco-related mortality will be in low and middle income countries.
Tobacco use is also a major barrier to sustainable development. A major driver of social inequities, tobacco use imposes significant social, economic and environmental harm on individuals, families and national economies.