Cultivation of tobacco, taxation, advertising and Internet trade were the main issues under discussion at the international conference on Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) held in New Delhi under the aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The FCTC is a legal framework being prepared by the WHO for global toba-cco control. The statute will be finally adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2003.

This was the third meeting of WHO experts on FCTC and the second in New Delhi after the October 1999 meet which discussed the terms of the FCTC.

At the first meet in Vancouver, Canada, in December 1998, WHO experts had observed that the involvement of the tobacco industry in the FCTC initiative would result in loop-hole ridden or pre-emptive laws, "which could be worse than no laws.'

It was suggested at the Vancouver meet that WHO member-nations should contribute one per cent of tobacco taxes to domestic and international tobacco control measures. Funding to boost such measures should also be sought from private entities including professional and trade associations, foundations, corporations and universities.