Strengthening FCTC Implementation in Brazil

Introduction

Canada and Brazil played prominent roles in the negotiations leading up to the FCTC. A good deal of the preparatory work for the Convention was funded by Canada, which was also one of only two countries to provide financial assistance for developing country civil society participation. Brazil chaired FCTC negotiations and played a major role in ensuring that talks were concluded rapidly. Within the PAHO region, Brazil emerged as the policy leader of the Latin American countries, providing legal and policy expertise to its neighbours. Moreover, the head of WHO's Tobaccco Free Initiative during the talks was the former director of Brazil's national tobacco control programme.

On the other hand, Brazil is unique amongst major democracies in having relatively extensive tobacco control policies that were developed and implemented almost entirely by government initiative, notably through the National Cancer Institute (INCA) and the national regulatory agency for food, drugs and tobacco, ANVISA. Unfortunately, in a political system as vast and fragmented as Brazil's, policy coherence across government is sometimes hard to achieve. Tobacco prices in Brazil are extremely low, reflecting low absolute tax levels and difficulties controlling smuggling. Federal law 9.294 has prohibited smoking in enclosed public places since 1996, but is not respected or enforced in most places, and there is a lack of clarity and knowledge about enforcement jurisdictions and penalties.

Through this project, HealthBridge worked with its Brazilian colleagues to further build the capacity and breadth of the Rede Tobacco Zero, a virtual network of civil society organizations interested in tobacco control, of the government legislators involved in tobacco control in the country. This project also provided significant synergy with HealthBridge's CIDA-funded tobacco control project in the country. It sought to enable the undertaking of the strategic planning and information sharing while also building upon the initial successes achieved through the shadow monitoring report.

Objectives

The overall objectives of the project were:

• To support the development of RTZ’s Strategic Plan to contribute to increased civil society involvement in tobacco control and the implementation of the FCTC.
• To increase public and government awareness of the FCTC and its implementation in Brazil.

Results and Impact

The key outcomes of the first objective were (i) increased visibility of ACT as a centralized body to lead civil society involvement in tobacco control (this in turn creates an enabling environment conducive to improved networking between NGOs, health charities, and health professionals interested in tobacco control); (ii) increased awareness and involvement of civil society organizations in tobacco control; and (iii) increased coherence of civil society activities in tobacco control (evidenced through the development of a strategic plan and action plan that incorporated the interests of the wider ACT membership).

The key outcomes of the second objective were (i) increased appreciation among legislators and National Commission members for the role and technical expertise of civil society tobacco control advocates; (ii) increased opportunities for collaboration identified between government and civil society; and (iii) increased understanding of tobacco control issues among media and the general public.

For more details on these and other results, please see the final report.

Lessons Learned

None noted.

Recommendations

None noted.