Huffington Post: Time to Act Against Illicit Tobacco
Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, head of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC

“…This year’s World No Tobacco Day on May 31 is devoted to the issue of the illicit [tobacco] trade. The World Health Organization and the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) are urging Member States to join the expanding group of Parties that have signed the Protocol to Eliminate the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, an international treaty in its own right negotiated under the umbrella of the WHO FCTC. … The Protocol will not only strengthen the hands of governments in combating this pernicious business. It will also increase tax revenue, improve the health of the world’s citizens, and cut the financial lifeline of those who challenge law enforcers such as organized criminal gangs…” (6/3).