On First Day, 28 Nations Sign Anti-Tobacco Pact

Twenty-eight countries and the European Commission lined up to endorse a landmark global anti-smoking treaty on the first day it was open for signature.

Officials behind the pact said commitment appeared so high that the agreement could be in force by the year’s end.

The pact needs 40 signatures to be ratified by national legislatures before it becomes law in those countries. It will be open for signature until July 2004. Nations signing at a special ceremony at the Geneva headquarters of the World Health Organization included Brazil, Botswana, Iran, Britain and Spain, but not the U.S.