WHO talks create division on duty-free tobacco

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Delegates from over 150 countries met in Geneva last week for a second round of negotiations on the World Health Organization (WHO) backed treaty to curb tobacco use. The talks ended unresolved on Friday, with widening division between some industrialised or tobacco-producing countries and smaller developing countries that favour stricter controls on cigarette marketing.

The US proposed removing treaty provisions calling for the prohibition of duty-free cigarettes as well as provisions for a ban on the use of the terms "light" and "mild" in tobacco advertising and a proposal for tobacco retailers to be licensed. The European Union position is also opposed to the provisions, saying it is constrained by the treaties that created it.