SA Tobacco Cos. Asked to Play Ball (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

TOBACCO BARONS URGED TO CO-OPERATE 
CAPE TOWN August 26 1998 Sapa

     Tobacco companies should consider their opposition to the Tobacco
Products Bill and not delay the legislation
     by using stalling tactics, national assembly health committee chairman
Dr Abe Nkomo said on Wednesday. 

     "It's time the tobacco industry stopped playing games," he said after a
High Court hearing brought by the
     tobacco industry to appeal against the process followed in preparing
the bill. 

     "In court today (Wednesday) they argued that they will have
insufficient time to make an input on the legislation
     that has been proposed by the Health Minister (Dr Nkosazana Zuma)...but
that is far from the truth," Nkomo
     said in a statement. 

     There would be public hearings when the bill was tabled and referred to
the committee, and the industry would
     have the same opportunity as anyone else to have their voice and
opinion heard. 

     "The industry will have a second bite of the cherry because they will
also have an opportunity to make their
     submissions when the bill is considered by the NCOP (National Council
of Provinces) here in Cape Town and
     in all nine provinces of our country," he said. 

     Nkomo warned the industry that government first and foremost had the
right to make policies for the people and
     that no stakeholder or interested party had the right to sabotage or
hinder the passing of transformatory
     legislation, particularly in the health sector, for commercial reasons. 

     "I urge the tobacco barons not to throw a spanner in the works with
this bill but to play their part in free and fair
     consideration of the legislation," he said. 

source: http://www.anc.org.za/anc/newsbrief/1998/news0827