Geneva is home to the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO), yet Switzerland has not ratified the global convention on tobacco control and remains one of the countries where the tobacco industry has most influence. The 11th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) ended in Geneva on November 22 after six days of deliberations. The parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products gathered the following week. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) commits its parties to end the “global tobacco epidemic”. The treaty provides a legal framework and a package of tobacco control measures. These include pictorial health warnings on cigarette packets, smoke-free laws and increased taxes on tobacco products. The Convention today has 183 parties. Switzerland signed it in June 2004 but has not ratified it.