[Intl-tobacco] Public Hearing on WHO Framework Convention: Please Contribute! (fwd)

[Robert Weissman]

From=20the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:

March 8, 2000

Dear Colleagues:

We are writing to urge you to attend and speak at a government-sponsored
public hearing on the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 15th,
from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center,
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW in Washington, DC. If you cannot attend in
person, we ask that you send in a written statement (see below).

It is our understanding that tobacco industry representatives and others
committed to undermining a strong Framework Convention will have a large
presence at this hearing and will testify against the Framework
Convention. They are well prepared for this hearing =96and the public healt=
h
community must be prepared to respond in force.

It is critical that public health and other interested communities speak
out at this hearing. The U.S. Administration needs to hear from more than
the tobacco industry and its allies. Each of our organizations needs to
tell the Administration that that we expect the United States to play a
positive leadership role in negotiating the Framework Convention. They
need to know that we will be watching their negotiating positions closely
and will hold them accountable .

A fact sheet on the Convention process is attached to this letter.  We can
also send you a set of suggested talking points separately. We encourage
you to use them or produce your own. Let us know if we can be of any
further help. See you on the 15th!


WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Speak at the Hearing:

Please register to make a 3 minute presentation on behalf of your
organization at the March 15 hearing. There are 130 speaking slots, many
of which are still available. To sign up, please contact: Ms. Monica
Swann, Office on Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control; tel.
(202) 205-8500, or e-mail FCTC@cdc.gov.

Attend the Hearing and Encourage Staff & Others to do the Same:

The hearing room holds 500 and we encourage you to send interested staff
and others-- again to let the Administration know that there is strong
interest and support for the Framework Convention in our communities. We
encouraged you to register early by providing your name, title, firm name,
address, and telephone number to Monica Swann (contact information above).

Submit Written Comments:

The Administration will be accepting written comments until March 31st. To
submit electronic comments, send via e-mail to FCTC@cdc.gov. For written
comments, write to: FCTC Comments (Attn: Ms. Monica Swann), Office on
Smoking and Health, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 317-B, Washington,
DC 20201.

For more information:

Please contact:

Judy Glanz <jglanz@tobaccofreekids.org> or Judy Wilkenfeld
<jwilkenfeld@tobaccofreekids.org> at the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids,
tel. 202-296-5469.

Background Information:

The full text of the Federal Register Notice announcing the March 15th
hearing can be found at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=3D2000_register&d=
oci
d=3D00-4388-filed

Action on Smoking & Health (UK) http://www.ash.org.uk/international.html

Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids http://tobaccofreekids.org/campaign/global/

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
http://www.who.int/toh/fctc/fctcintro.htm


WHO FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL

The World Health Organization (WHO) has initiated negotiations on a
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in an effort to promote a
coordinated international response to one of the most deadly epidemics of
our time.  A Framework Convention is a type of multilateral treaty, which
allows states to proceed incrementally by establishing first a general
framework followed by specific protocols.

Tobacco is truly a global problem. WHO estimates that each year about 4
million people die from tobacco-related illness. If current trends
continue, this figure will rise to about 10 million per year by the year
2030, with 70% of those deaths occurring in developing countries. In fact,
more people are expected to die from tobacco-related illness over the next
30 years than from AIDS, tuberculosis, automobile accidents, maternal
mortality, homicide and suicide combined.

Just as infectious diseases know no political boundaries, leaving
individual countries incapable of effectively containing them, the tobacco
epidemic also requires international cooperation if it is to be
controlled. The challenges that transcend the borders of sovereign states
include:

* Advances in communications technology which facilitate aggressive global
marketing and promotion of tobacco products, such as over the Internet and
or on satellite television. * Cigarette smuggling across national borders.
* The increased liberalization of trade and investment, which has provided
tobacco, companies the opportunity to expand their operations.

In May 1999, the 191 member states of WHO unanimously endorsed the start
of negotiations for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to
deal with these and other issues. A record 50 nations took the floor to
pledge financial and political support for the Convention, including the
five permanent members of the United Nations=92 Security Council, as well a=
s
major tobacco growing and exporting countries. The FCTC will be the
world=92s first tobacco control treaty and has the potential to have an
historic impact on global public health.

Structure & Timeline

Under the convention/protocol approach, states negotiate a framework
convention that calls for cooperation in achieving broadly stated goals
and contain agreements regarding issues on which there is consensus. At
the same time, states may negotiate separate protocol agreements on more
technical or contentious issues. This approach has been used to address
other global problems, such as climate change.

The Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI), a cabinet-level project of WHO created
by Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland, will act as Secretariat for the
FCTC during the negotiations. Meanwhile, a Working Group, open to all WHO
Member States, has been created to prepare proposed draft elements of the
FCTC. The Working Group will have its second meeting from 27-29 March 2000
in Geneva. A draft report, which will be considered by the Working Group,
will be posted on the FCTC web page one month prior to this meeting. The
Group will then prepare a final report that will serve as the starting
point for formal negotiations, which are scheduled to commence in October
2000. Though the negotiation of each treaty is unique and depends upon the
political will of states, WHO foresees adoption of the Convention and
related protocols no later than May 2003, after which it will open for
ratification.

Possible Issues to Be Negotiated

The actual content of the Convention and related protocols will depend
upon the priorities of the member states. Possible issues that could be
addressed include: tobacco price and tax policies; passive smoking;
protecting women, children and adolescents; smuggling of tobacco products;
sale of duty-free tobacco products; advertising, promotion and sponsorship
of tobacco products; tobacco product regulation, including testing and
reporting of tobacco product ingredients and constituents, and the ability
to require tobacco product modification; tobacco industry regulation;
information exchange; health education and research; agricultural
policies; and tobacco use prevention and cessation.  Discussions with
government delegations and Secretariat staff indicate that, aside from the
text of the Framework Convention itself, the first three protocols to be
negotiated may be on smuggling, advertising and cessation/treatment.

The Framework Convention Deserves Strong U.S. Support

As the home to the world=92s largest multinational tobacco company, the
United States has a particular responsibility to display constructive
leadership and support for the Framework Convention process. This will
involve, among other things, ensuring high-level representation from the
United States at the negotiations and committing political and financial
support to the Framework process.

The negotiation and implementation of the FCTC could make an enormous
contribution to stemming the growth of the tobacco epidemic by raising
national and international awareness, implementing effective national
tobacco control measures and providing technical and financial resources.
The Convention will also serve as a platform for multilateral cooperation
on aspects of tobacco control that transcends national boundaries,
including global marketing/promotion of tobacco products and smuggling. In
addition to the specific benefits of the Convention and related protocols,
the process leading to the passage of the FCTC is likely to:

* Give new impetus to efforts to strengthen national legislation and
action to control the harm caused by tobacco. * Help mobilize national and
global technical and financial support for tobacco control. * Bring new
ministries, including those dealing with foreign affairs and finance, more
deeply into the tobacco control effort. * Mobilize NGOs and other members
of civil society in support of stronger tobacco control. * Raise public
awareness of marketing tactics used by transnational tobacco companies
abroad.

Useful Web-Sites:

Action on Smoking & Health (UK) http://www.ash.org.uk/international.html

Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids http://tobaccofreekids.org/campaign/global/

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
http://www.who.int/toh/fctc/fctcintro.htm