Shadow Report: Who Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – Implementation and Challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2017

W H O F R A M E W O R K C O N V E N T I O N O N T O B A C C O C O N T R O L I M P L E M E N T A T I O N A N D C H A L L E N G E S I N B O S N I A A N D H E R Z E G O V I N A S H A D O W R E P O R T October 2017 SHADOW REPORT: WHO FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL – IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2017. This Project is financed by the European Union. The content of this publicaon is the responsibility of Associaon PROI and does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. The Publicaon has been prepared under the Project “Accomplishment of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms through Tobacco Control”, which is financed by the European Union and implemented by PROI. Udruženje „Progresivni razvoj organizacija i individua“ (PROI) /Associaon “Progressive Reinforcement of Organisaons and Individuals”/ www.proi.ba Gabrielle Moreno Locatelli 21, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 SHADOW REPORT: WHO FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL – IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2017. Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 5 1.1. Ov erview of legislaon in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of tobacco control 6 1.2. Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 1.3. Federaon of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) 7 1.4. Republika Srpska (RS) 8 1.5. Brčko District 9 1.6. Obligaon of harmonizaon of laws and interna onal legal documents 10 1.7. FBiH Dra Law on Control and Restricted Use of Tobacco, Tobacco and Other Products for Smoking 10 2. FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL 12 Arcle 5 - General obligaons, paragraph 3 12 2.1. Introducon 12 2.2. Breach of Arcle 5.3 in the region: Joint efforts of the tobacco industry to protect market with “great potenal” 14 2.3. Mulple breaches of Arcle 5.3 by fighng new law in FBiH 15 2.4. Using front groups 15 2.5. Research supported by the tobacco industry 15 2.6. Recommendaons for the implementaon of Arcle 5.3 16 3. ARTICLE 8 – PROTECTION FROM EXPOSURE TO TOBACCO SMOKE 17 3.1. Introducon 17 3.2. Exposure to tobacco smoke: Current situaon 17 3.3. Current legislaon at the state level of Bosnia and Herzegovina 17 3.4. Exposure to tobacco smoke in enclosed public facilies 19 3.5. Exposure to tobacco smoke in workplaces and in instuons 20 3.6. Opposion of the tobacco industry to the creaon of public spaces free of tobacco smoke: Example of FBiH 21 3.7. Recommendaons for the implementaon of Arcle 8 22 4. ARTICLE 13 – GENERAL PROVISIONS 23 4.1. Introducon 24 4.2. Adversing, displaying and sponsorship: Current situaon in BiH 24 4.3. Visual examples: Adversing, sponsoring and displaying tobacco products 26 4.4. Recommenda ons for the implementaon of Arcle 13 28 5. CONCLUSION 28 REFERENCES 29 4 SHADOW REPORT: WHO FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL – IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2017. 1. SUMMARY The Framework Convenon on Tobacco Control is a document issued by the World Health Organizaon which represents the most significant instrument for implementaon of comprehensive tobacco control measures worldwide. Bosnia and Herzegovina rafied this Convenon in 2009. Universal Declaraon on Human Rights, Constuon of the World Health Organizaon, Convenon on the Rights of the Child, Convenon on the Eliminaon of All Forms of Discriminaon against Women are some of convenons formally included in the preamble of the Framework Convenon on Tobacco Control. Its signatories have the obligaon of protecng human right to health from the danger the tobacco smoke poses, as well as to improve the life standard of their cizens, whereby governments are responsible for protecng individuals from direct exposure to tobacco smoke. However, this document was prepared eight years from the signing of the Framework Convenon on Tobacco Control, and laws are sll not harmonized with the Convenon. By signing this Convenon, Bosnia and Herzegovina undertook the obligaon of subming periodical reports on the progress of harmonizaon of laws with this Convenon. The aim of such reporng is to enable the signatories to learn something from experience of other signatories, while they also serve as a basis for a review performed by the Conference of Pares (COP). Since the Convenon raficaon, Bosnia and Herzegovina has submied a total of three reports on the progress of its implementaon.¹ The last report was submied on 14 April 2016. Although it contained the data on the smoking prevalence among adults and children, as well as on the level of exposure to tobacco smoke, and on other issues related to measures, policies and cooperaon in the tobacco control area, it did not contain data that could indicate the actual situaon in the field when it comes to implementaon of the Framework Convenon on Tobacco Control. Besides, the data presented were incomplete, and they only parally provided answers to quesons they tackled. The inter-sectorial cooperaon was stated as one of the main challenges for implementaon of the Convenon.² This is why civil society organizaons have special potenal for geng a beer insight and informaon during their field acvies, and of presenng them to the COP. The Shadow Report serves as an important instrument for achieving this aim. This report has been modelled on similar reports on implementaon of the Framework Convenon on Tobacco Control, whereby other Convenon signatories have been taken as an example. In the report, special emphasis was placed on the least tackled problems, challenges and issues that refer to specific Arcles of the Framework Convenon on Tobacco Control. In it, actual situaon related to implementaon of Arcles 7, 13 and 5.3 has been analyzed. Besides containing a detailed overview of informaon, analysis of implementaon of every of the aforemenoned Arcles also consists of conclusions and recommendaons for their implementaon. The analysis, conclusions and recommendaons are results of mulannual acvies of the non-governmental sector implemented in the tobacco control area. The purpose of this report is to serve as a complement to the official naonal report on implementaon of the Convenon, and to provide replies to some of the quesons that are yet to be tackled. 5 SHADOW REPORT: WHO FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL – IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2017. 1.1. Overview of legislaon in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of tobacco control Despite numerous opportunies for prevenve acon, smoking in the world is sll the biggest single risk factor for the health of the populaon of all ages. Smoking in Bosnia and Herzegovina is also one of the leading public health problems. Together with other forms of unhealthy lifestyles such as improper diet, physical inacvity and alcohol consumpon, smoking and tobacco smoke exposure lead to numerous illnesses and condions that cause premature deaths and high rates of disability. The results of recently conducted populaon studies in the Federaon of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) in 2012 point to an alarming high percentage of daily smokers, a total of 61.3% of men and 35.9% women in working age (25-64 years), which is stascally a significant increase compared to the 2002 survey results, when the percentage of daily smokers among men was 49.3% and among women 29.8%.³ Also, exposure to passive smoking in all populaon groups is alarming, both at home and in public places, which require urgent intervenons in terms of smoking ban in public places in the FBiH because it is obvious that the laws in this area are not respected and the penal policy did not give the right results. According to the research that was conducted, almost 60% of the adult populaon (57.3%) confirms the daily exposure to tobacco smoke at the workplace, of which 35.6% of respondents indicate exposure to more than 5 hours during the day, while among the populaon of school children and young people, 13-15 years old 87.8% of this populaon, of which 86.6% of boys and 89.7% of girls, confirms the daily exposure to passive smoking in public places.⁴ The present state can be aributed to the currently inadequate law that has not been aligned either with the Tobacco Control Framework Convenon or the EU Tobacco Product Direcve. This is the case in both enes (Federaon of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska). Although Bosnia and Herzegovina has rafied the Framework Convenon on Tobacco Control in 2009⁵ by which it undertook obligaon to align its laws with it, this has not yet happened, and at the me of wring this report (October 2017), in both enes iniaves and procedures for new tobacco control laws are in progress. The current inconsistency and weak implementaon of the exisng laws led to disastrous public-health stascs in both enes, as well as the alarming level of exposure to tobacco smoke in public places across the country, thus damaging the basic human right to life and the healthy environment. 1.2. Bosnia and Herzegovina The Law on Tobacco of Bosnia and Herzegovina was passed in 2010 (Official Gazee of BiH, no. 32/10), spulang the manufacture, organizaon of manufacture, purchase, processing, refinement and sale of raw tobacco leaves, as well as manufacture and sale of tobacco products in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The provisions of this Law as regards the manufacture of raw tobacco leaves do not apply to scienfic organizaons producing tobacco for scienfic or tesng purposes.

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