Beijing Government adopted anti-smoking legislation to ban smoking in all indoor public places, workplaces and public transport vehicles on Friday. The regulation is scheduled to become effective on June 1 next year.

According to the bill, smoking is also prohibited in open-air space in kindergartens, schools, child welfare institutions, women and children's hospitals, fitness and sports venues, and cultural relic protection sites that are open to the public.

Hungary has been Party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control since 2005. In recent years, the Government of Hungary has adopted and implemented a series of strong tobacco-control measures. The most important of these are the smoking ban in indoor public places and some outdoor public places, the significant tax increase on cigarettes, the inclusion of combined warnings (text and pictures) on cigarette packages, and the drastic reduction in the number of stores selling tobacco products.

19 November 2014 In his speech concerning the budget and economic policy of the Government of Ghana, the Minister of Finance, Seth E Terkper, indicated that Ghana will move towards increasing the excise duty rate of tobacco products. This increase will improve compliance by Ghana with Article 6 of the Convention and will be in line with the guidelines for implementation of Article 6, adopted at the sixth session of the COP in October 2014.

The WHO FCTC Secretariat together with colleagues from the WHO and other UN agencies conducted needs assessment missions in Jamaica, Congo and Togo in August 2014. These missions were possible through the funding by the EU.

A series of meetings were held with stakeholders from various government agencies, civil society, academia, UN and donor organizations, to discuss achievements and challenges and to identify needs and gaps in implementation of the WHO FCTC.

Austria ratified the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products and has become its fifth Party. It is the first country of the European Union to ratify the Protocol, and also the first from the European Region of WHO.  

The new pictorial warnings notification by Government of India mandates 85% pictorial warnings on both sides of the tobacco product packages. The notification was issued on 15 October 2014 and is to come into effect from 1 April 2015.

Of the 85 per cent space of the warning, 60 per cent will be devoted to pictures while 25 per cent will be covered by text. Currently, the size of the warning is 40 per cent.

The Convention Secretariat welcomes Gabon as the third Party to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, following Nicaragua and Uruguay.

On 1 October, H.E. Mrs. Marianne Odette Bibalou Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Gabon deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products at the United Nations in New York.

The Convention Secretariat congratulates Uruguay on becoming the second Party to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. The first protocol to the WHO FCTC was adopted on 12 November 2012 at the fifth session of the Conference of the Parties in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

In accordance with its Article 43, the Protocol was open for signature by all Parties to the WHO FCTC from 10 January 2013 until 9 January 2014. When it was closed for signature, the Protocol had been signed by 53 States and the European Union.

Marisol Touraine, Minister of Social Affairs, Health and Women's Rights of France, announced, on 25 September 2014, a new National Plan for Tobacco Control.  The plan foresees such as:

- Introduction of plain packaging, a ban of smoking in playgrounds and in vehicles if a child of under 12 years of age is present and communication campaigns to strengthen prevention of tobacco use, specifically among the youth;

- Better reimbursement of cessation treatment, stronger involvement of doctors, information campaign on cessation to promote help to smokers who wish to quit;

The Convention Secretariat, together with WHO, the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, conducted a joint needs assessment mission on 8-12 September 2014. This mission was made possible through funding by the European Union.

Meetings were held with senior policy-makers and stakeholders from various Government ministries and United Nations agencies, to discuss achievements and challenges and to identify needs and gaps in implementation of the WHO FCTC.