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obacco-control activists have presented more evidence to dispel myths on the negative impact the United Nations'€™ Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) will have on the industry.

The activists hope that with the new revelation the government will soon ratify the convention.

'€œThe FCTC is the United Nations most ratified convention. Indonesia is the only nation in the Asia-Pacific region that has not officially endorsed the framework,'€ tobacco-control expert Dina Kania said in a media conference in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

Dina, who is the national representative of the World Health Organization'€™s (WHO) tobacco-free initiative, maintained that, despite popular belief, the FCTC did not negatively impact on the tobacco trade of countries that ratified it.

To support her argument, Dina cited a number of surveys that concluded that ratification or endorsement of the convention did not impact negatively on tobacco farmers, the industry'€™s workforce or a nation'€™s sovereignty.

A WHO study comparing tobacco production in 2002 and 2010 showed that countries continued to experience growth in tobacco production despite the move toward FCTC ratification.

A 2012 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) study found that China, Brazil and India were the largest producers of tobacco in the world. China produced 3.2 million tons of tobacco; India came in second with 875,000 tons and Brazil placed third with 810,550 tons.

China, which ratified the convention in 2006, still saw a 4.8 percent growth in tobacco production, while Brazil and India showed 0.6 and 0.7 percent growth in the same period, respectively.

Brazil ratified the convention in 2006, while India preceded it by a year. The FCTC also does not impact the workforce in the cigarette industry, Dina added.

According to a 2013 study by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Chinese workforce in the cigarette industry grew 10 percent, from 270,000 workers in 2000 to 297,472 in 2012. The runners-up in global tobacco production also saw growth: Brazil'€™s cigarette industry workforce grew 13 percent to 18,807 workers, while India'€™s grew 18 percent to 537,692 workers in the same 12-year period.

Dina also revealed that the FCTC did not impede World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements that were already in place.

The 1994 General Agreements for Tariffs and Trade (GATT), along with WTO agreements on technical barriers and trade-related intellectual property rights, ensured that FCTC ratifying countries were given leeway for protection rights, a collaboration platform and support for issues relating to the tobacco trade.

Dina emphasized that Indonesia would gain strategic benefits if the government ratified the convention, such as the right to vote on framework policy decisions.

Kartono Mohamad, an advisor for the National Commission on Tobacco Control, said that even with tobacco control, the products could be used for other purposes.

'€œTobacco could be used to produce vegetable-based insulin and as pesticide [...] it provides a basis for product diversification. [It] can kill insects, pests, jellyfish and humans,'€ Kartono said.

'€œThe FCTC is not anti-tobacco. Its purpose is to impede the growth of tobacco use for the sake of public health,'€ Kartono said.

Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi previously aimed to have Indonesia ratify the convention by January this year, but she was forced to concede defeat.

Nafsiah urged the House of Representatives against delaying ratification of the FCTC as lawmakers said they were still deliberating the tobacco bill. The lawmakers denied her claims that the bill had clauses that would protect the tobacco industry. (tjs)