According to a report from Tobacco Reporter, the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has accused the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of failing at a systemic level, resulting in the postponement of the 10th Conference of Parties (COP10) which was scheduled to take place in Panama last week.
CAPHRA stated in an email declaration, “While the ‘official’ reason for the delay of the conference is cited as security concerns in Panama, it has been revealed that the unfinished COP10 organizational contract (Panama’s Ministry of Health had allocated $5 million for this purpose) was terminated by the government at the end of October, resulting in the inability to find any service providers to ensure the holding of the conference.
