FCA FCTC Monitor

The release of The Civil Society Monitoring of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: “2007 Status Report of the Framework Convention Alliance”, the first report of the FCA FCTC Monitor project, marks the beginning of an important process of providing information on how well countries are doing in implementing the FCTC. The FCA FCTC Monitor is a civil-society based approach to the monitoring and implementation of the FCTC that holds governments accountable to their obligations under the treaty. The Monitor provides a baseline of information from which to measure progress in alleviating the pandemic of tobacco disease and addiction. The Monitor focuses on demand reductions provisions in the treaty including policies regarding secondhand smoke, advertising and promotion, warning labels and taxation. Also, the Monitor looks at non-party actors that have impact on the implementation of the goals of the treaty including monitoring tobacco industry interference. The key elements of the FCA FCTC Monitor include the development of a global reporting network and the annual report. The data collection instrument is organized around core FCTC articles, and allows country informants to give detailed descriptions of the tobacco control situation in their country.

In addition, the FCA FCTC Monitor serves as a tool for advocates around the world to easily generate national level reports. This presentation will discuss the components of the data collection system, the recruitment of the data collection network and the production of the Monitor report.