The WHO and tobacco control: implications for the travel‐retail sector

This paper details the recent Convention put forward by the World Health Organisation (WHO) advocating a ban on the sale of tobacco goods through tax and duty free channels. It examines the purpose behind the proposals before considering the response and reaction of the travel‐retail industry. The paper maintains that the impact of abolition upon the sector would be severe. A co‐ordinated lobbying campaign has therefore been mounted that has emphasised the economic impact of a ban. It is argued that this campaign has been successful and has influenced the drafting of the Convention. The implementation of the ban has been left to individual countries and therefore relies upon the political expediency of particular nation states.