Paraguay became a Party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on December 25, 2006. The president of the republic holds periodic meetings with the former president of the republic and owner and main representative of Tabacalera del Este S.A. (TABESA). These meetings are not published on government websites, nor is what is discussed and agreed to in these meetings. It is known through investigations of communication media. The state has a resolution of the Ministry of Health No. 237, which establishes the mandatory registration of natural or legal persons who are dedicated to the production, import and export of tobacco, with which the industry is formalized.