The Third Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (MOP3) will also be held in Panama from February 5 to 15, the Health Ministry (MINSA) announced.

It added that this kind of meeting takes place every two years to review progress and verify the implementation of both instruments, as well as the need for adjustments or modifications.

More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the COP10 and 700 others will participate in the MOP3 from 183 countries, the organizing committee informed.

Local media emphasized that in April 2022, the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dominique Nguyen, praised Panama’s work in the prevention of smoking and therefore selected the Central American country as the venue for both events.

Official statistics show that in Panama, with a population of 4.2 million inhabitants, 153,444 people use tobacco products, accounting for 5.0 percent of the population over 15 years of age.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is 20 years old and is the first step in the global fight against that habit, as it contains key provisions such as the total prohibition of advertisements, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products.

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