Romania Hopes to Crack Down on Smoking (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Romania Hopes to Crack Down on Smoking
Source: CNN, Sunday, 11/28/99
Aired November 28, 1999 - 2:33 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.

ASIEH NAMDAR, CNN ANCHOR:  World health officials say tobacco kills 11,000
people each day.  The alarming numbers have prompted high-profile legal
battles against tobacco companies in the United States.  Now, cigarette
makers are coming under increasing fire elsewhere.  The European Union
plans to introduce tougher warnings on cigarette packages.  It also wants
to strictly limit harmful ingredients in cigarettes.  Romanian officials
would like to see their country join the trend towards less smoking.

But as Romanian television reports, that may not be easy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICOLAE MELINESCU, ROMANIAN TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over):  After the
collapse of communism 10 years ago, Romanian smokers were offered a real
treat.  The local low-quality cigarettes were replaced by famous brands
that Romanians had known only from movies and foreign magazines.

With free-trading facilities offered by the market economy, transnational
producing companies flooded every selling point.  The number of smokers
surged alarmingly, young people accounting for 10 to 15 percent of the
overall smoking population.

TIBERIU ROSTAS, TOBACCO WHOLESALER (through translator):  I think that the
cigarette consumption in Romania will continue to grow in the next 10 to
15 years because people don't expect an improvement in their standard of
living.  They don't hope for a better future, and they will become more
addicted.

MELINESCU:  There are 6.5 million smokers in Romania.  They blow away
three million packets per year.  The legal turnout from tobacco products
trade reaches $500 million a year, and the taxes collected by the state
cover five percent of the national budget.

The effects are disastrous.  Every ton of cigarettes is responsible
annually for 600 deaths.

DR. VASILE MURESAN, PHYSICIAN (voice-over):  Only a few men get the
benefits of cigarette production, but the whole society has to bear the
consequences of it.

MELINESCU:  Every 10 seconds a smoker dies somewhere in the world.  The
risk of cancer is 22 times higher with a smoker than a nonsmoker.  
Aggressive advertising and a low social awareness of the dangers prolong
the threat of this hazardous habit.  All packets are marked with a warning
logo, yet the cigarette market is prospering.

GEORGE PETRESCU, NON-SMOKING LEAGUE:  The 8,000 alien substances contained
by tobacco cause havoc in the human body while smoking.

MELINESCU:  The league alone cannot face the tremendous task of
prohibiting smoking.  Analysts say that an all-out social effort could
show some results after a decade or two.

(on camera):  This is the gesture that any smoker must do, not only on
international day without tobacco but on any day of the year. This might
be a way to put an end to this suicidal habit which, kills millions of
people every year.

For THE CNN WORLD REPORT, I'm Nicolae Melinescu from Romanian television.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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