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Means and ENDS – e-cigarettes, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and global health diplomacy in action

Russell, A.; Wainwright, M.; Tilson, M.

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Authors

M. Tilson



Abstract

E-cigarettes are a new and disruptive element in global health diplomacy (GHD) and policy-making. This is an ethnographic account of how e-cigarettes and other Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) were tackled at the 6th Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It demonstrates how uncertainty about ENDS and differences of opinion are currently so great that ‘agreeing to disagree’ as a consensus position and ‘strategic use of time’ were the principles that ensured effective GHD in this case. Observers representing accredited non-governmental organisations were active in briefing and lobbying country delegates not to spend too much time debating an issue for which insufficient evidence exists, and for which countries were unlikely to reach a consensus on a specific regulatory approach or universally applicable regulatory measures. Equally, the work of Costa Rica in preparing and re-negotiating the draft decision, and the work of the relevant Committee Chair in managing the discussion, contributed to effectively reining in lengthy statements from Parties and focusing on points of consensus. As well as summarising the debate itself and analysing the issues surrounding it, this account offers an example of GHD working effectively in a situation of epistemic uncertainty.

Citation

Russell, A., Wainwright, M., & Tilson, M. (2018). Means and ENDS – e-cigarettes, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and global health diplomacy in action. Global Public Health, 13(1), 83-98. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2016.1152284

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 26, 2016
Online Publication Date Mar 7, 2016
Publication Date Jan 2, 2018
Deposit Date Mar 14, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 17, 2016
Journal Global Public Health
Print ISSN 1744-1692
Electronic ISSN 1744-1706
Publisher Taylor and Francis
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 13
Issue 1
Pages 83-98
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2016.1152284

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Copyright Statement
© 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/
Licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.







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