TAKE ACTION -- Health Before Trade: Tobacco out of the FTAA!

[Anna White]

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HEALTH BEFORE TRADE: TOBACCO OUT OF THE FTAA!
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Dear Friends,

Tobacco is a product like no other, in that it kills if used as
intended. On November 20-21, 2003, trade representatives of 34 countries
throughout the Americas will meet in Miami, FL for the next round of
negotiations on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).  The stated
purpose of the FTAA is to eliminate barriers to trade and investment
between these countries.  But when it comes to tobacco, more trade =
less health!  The FTAA poses a major threat to efforts to protect the
lives and lungs of people throughout the Americas from profit-hungry
tobacco corporations.  The best way to alleviate this threat would be to
EXCLUDE TOBACCO FROM THE SCOPE OF THE FTAA ALTOGETHER.

TAKE ACTION*: Send a fax to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick,
urging him to exclude tobacco from the scope of the FTAA!
http://petitions.globalink.org/view.php?code=ftaa

Letter is pre-written, so all you have to do is add your name and click
send!

* Note: We particularly encourage tobacco control advocates in the
Americas to participate in this fax campaign.  The 34 countries in the
Americas are: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,
Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana,
Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St.
Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname,
Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela

For more information on the issue of tobacco & trade:
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/trade/

For information on tobacco-related events taking place in Miami next
week:
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/event/ftaa/

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Global Partnerships for Tobacco Control
Essential Action
P.O. Box 19405
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: +1 202-387-8030
Fax: +1 202-234-5176
Email: tobacco@essential.org
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco