Regional action plan for the Tobacco Free Initiative in the Western Pacific (2015-2019)

The Western Pacific Region is home to 26% of the world’s population but 36% of the world’s tobacco users. Two people die per minute in the Region from tobacco-related diseases. Globally, tobacco stands to kill 1 billion lives in the 21st century-unless we act to curb the epidemic. To guide Member States in accelerating implementation of the WHO FCTC with support from WHO, the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific endorsed the Regional Action Plan for the Tobacco Free Initiative in the Western Pacific (2015-2019) at its sixty-fifth session in October 2014. Building on our experiences, the new regional action plan is structured around three pillars: strengthening sustainable institutional capacity; developing comprehensive legislation and regulation; and facilitating consistent enforcement through a whole-of-society approach. For each of these strategic outcomes, the regional action plan identifies clear objectives and critical steps to be taken by countries and WHO.