Oman, in close collaboration with WHO, hosted the 15th Session of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Tobacco Control Symposium. This year’s focus was on tobacco and trade and was a follow-up to the WHO regional workshop on the subject held in 2013.
Experts from all GCC countries and various sectors including customs, finance, health and transportation, as well as international tobacco and trade experts, participated in the three-day symposium. The symposium included discussions on the challenges faced by GCC countries in reducing tobacco consumption and its relation on international trade, the impact of trade liberalization on the global tobacco pandemic, and the components of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco products.