WHO is committed to fight the global tobacco epidemic.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control entered into force in February 2005. Since then, it has become one of the most widely embraced treaties in the history of the United Nations with more than 170 Parties covering 87% of the world's population. The WHO Framework Convention is WHO's most important tobacco control tool and a milestone in the promotion of public health. It is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of people to the highest standard of health, provides legal dimensions for international health cooperation and sets high standards for compliance.

In 2008, WHO introduced a package of tobacco control measures to further counter the tobacco epidemic and to help countries to implement the WHO Framework Convention. Known by their acronym MPOWER, the measures are identified as "best buys" and "good buys" in tobacco control. Each measure corresponds to at least one provision of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

The six MPOWER measures are:

Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies
Protect people from tobacco use
Offer help to quit tobacco use
Warn about the dangers of tobacco
Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
Raise taxes on tobacco.
For more information contact:
WHO Media centre
Telephone: +41 22 791 2222
E-mail: mediainquiries@who.int