Report emanating from Durban's International Convention Centre (ICC) indicates relieving progress in negotiations.

Experts at the World Health Organization's 3rd Conference of the Parties (COP3) find that significant progress has been made on the implementation of comprehensive smoke free policies at national and sub-national levels around the world. Another report however shows that the tobacco industry is continuing to engage in aggressive and often manipulative marketing worldwide.

 Called the "Status Report: Article 8 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)," was developed by The Global Smoke-free Partnership, a multi-partner initiative formed to promote effective smoke-free air policies worldwide. Currently, there are 32 countries who have adopted smoke-free air laws versus only 7 in 2004.

This progress is linked to the development and promotion of guidelines from the FCTC, the world's first public health treaty, which provided a roadmap and a legal framework for protecting citizens against exposure to secondhand smoke.

Cassandra Welch of the American Cancer Society and Director of the Global Smoke-free Partnership said: "This report promises to be a call to action for governments to protect people from secondhand smoke by providing positive examples of good practice and illustrating where guideline-standard legislation is working."

 While there is a positive trend toward greater tobacco regulation, there remain concerns about the impact of aggressive tobacco industry marketing practices worldwide. 

 A second report called "How Do You Sell Death?" was presented at the COP3 here in Durban and provides graphic examples of tobacco industry's advertising, promotion and sponsorship worldwide. 

Developed by The American Cancer Society, in partnership with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Framework Convention Alliance, the report is a visual testimony of Big Tobacco's tactics to lure and addict new smokers, in spite of countries' attempts to curtail marketing of tobacco products.

 Ms Welch states: "Every year, the tobacco industry spends billions of dollars around the globe to market their deadly products.  The tobacco industry's manipulative advertising tactics have exacerbated the health consequences of tobacco use, which is responsible for 5 million deaths every year."

There is a general consensus on the need for negotiation skills. But there is also general optimism that progress is being achieved. Out of the about 160 parties to the treaty, about 120 delegates turned up for the conference. "This portrays a promising air of possibility for decision making and subsequent implementation," says a member of the FCTC secretariate. He believes that the distance between the main divergent views "have been reduced greatly."

The main focus of concern currently revolves around contending issues like elimination of misleading labeling; "deadly, addictive and polluting" messages.