[Intl-tobacco] Tough talks on world's first anti-smoking treaty resume in Geneva

[Robert Weissman]

Tough talks on world's first anti-smoking treaty resume in Geneva
by AFP
Source: Agence France Presse (AFP), Monday, 4/30/01

Geneva - Inter-governmental talks on the world's first global treaty to
restrict tobacco use, including a proposed ban on advertising, resumed
here on Monday.

But anti-smoking campaigners said they fear the negotiations, due to run
until the end of the week, could fail, squandering a chance for a global
response to tobacco consumption.

The convention, being negotiated by the 191 member states of the World
Health Organisation (WHO), aims to restrict the production and consumption
of tobacco, and stem the annual four million deaths tied to tobacco use.

The draft Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, being used as a
starting point for this week's negotiations, includes a ban on advertising
targeted at under-18 year olds.

It also outlines "strict restrictions" on tobacco advertising aimed at
adults, the introduction of taxes on tobacco products and education,
training and awareness campaigns.

But the anti-smoking organisation, ASH, accused the text of being "weak
and ill-considered", while accusing countries of being entrenched in their
own positions which it said could lead to the text being further diluted.

"The way things are going, we are going to end up with hot air and empty
resolutions of good intent," Clive Bates, director of ASH, said in a
written statement.

Non-governmental organisations grouped under the Network for
Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals also criticised the draft
convention, which they said must ensure the transparency of tobacco
companies' policies on advertising.

It is impossible to define advertising targeted at under 18 year olds as
all advertising reaches that age group even if it is aimed at older
people, the London-based organisation ASH said.

Brazilian Ambassador Celso Amorim, who is chairman of the negotiations and
drew up the text after the first round of talks last October, said he did
not consider the text to be weak.

Asked about whether targeting youngsters with an advertising ban would be
viable, he told reporters: "When we are negotiating in an
inter-governmental process, we have to have two things, a convention that
is meaningful but also that is at least in principle ratifiable."

"I exercise my judgement of what the limits might be and I wrote this
section according to it," he added.

Multinational cigarette companies, who have found themselves increasingly
confronted by the Geneva-based WHO, have also argued the UN agency's
proposed convention will not work.

Major manufacturer British American Tobacco (BAT), reiterating its
position on the convention, said on Monday it acknowledged its product was
"risky", but called for "sensible regulation".

"We believe the WHO has a major role in promoting health policy, but that
the draft convention would not constitute sensible regulation," BAT said
in a written statement.

The WHO proposals "risk undermining governments' self-determination," the
company said, calling for an approach that takes account of the different
priorities of governments and the views of stakeholders.

The convention, which member states began negotiating last October, is
also set to include provisions on educating young people about tobacco, as
well as steps to reinforce the fight against cigarette smuggling.

Opening the talks on Monday, WHO director-general Gro Harlem Brundtland
said she believed the framework convention was "progressively taking shape
with each passing day."

"This year, more than two million of the annual global tobacco death toll
of four million will occur in the developing world," she told delegates.

By 2030, about 10 million people are expected to die every year from
tobacco-related causes, she added.

The convention, which will be the first international instrument of its
kind once adopted, is expected to be completed by next year or 2003 with
WHO member states holding negotiations every six months.

WHO organised two days of public hearings in Geneva last October to allow
international cigarette producers and tobacco growers to voice their
concerns about the proposed treaty.