The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance (FCAP), a Union grantee, received a World No Tobacco Day award from the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region.

FCAP has been instrumental in mobilising a coalition of tobacco control organisations across the country to push for 100% smokefree indoor places in cities and municipalities. Its non-governmental organisation status has allowed it to build a network that encompasses religious organisations, the media and health professionals associations, all key to implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which was ratified in the Philippines in 2005.

The Union has been supporting FCAP through technical assistance and a Bloomberg Initiative grant since 2007, to raise organisational capacity in tackling tobacco control in the capital region of Manila and beyond. “We congratulate FCAP and its director, Dr. Maricar Limpin, whose leadership in tobacco control has had far-reaching impact on public health in the Philippines and throughout the region“, said Dr. Ehsan Latif, Director of the Tobacco Control Department at The Union.

FCAP’s work is focused on policy and legislation, especially on issues such as taxation, packaging and labelling (including graphic health warnings), and smokefree initiatives. It has coordinated the Tobacco Tax Working Group, which brings together economists, public health professionals and legislators, and has drafted a toolkit on smokefree policy that is currently under review by members of the organisation, as well as other partners in tobacco control.

On World No Tobacco Day, FCAP organised a run in Manila with the Philippine College of Chest Physicians – “Run for Fun Lung” – to promote a healthy lifestyle among the young and dissuade them from starting smoking. According to the 2007 Global Youth Tobacco Survey undertaken in the Philippines, 22.7% of children between the ages of 13–15 use some form of tobacco and 17.5% of youngsters smoke. Concerned about the prevalence of child smokers, FCAP and their partners have rallied together to help reduce tobacco consumption among this age group and among the population at large.