[Intl-tobacco] Framework Convention Updates

[Robert Weissman]

Contents:

1. Framework Convention Update from the Framework Convention Alliance
2. Day one update from FCTC negotiations from the Network Against
Tobacco Transnationals (NATT)
2. Release on NATT's Marlboro Man award to Pakistan



An update on negotiations at the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control by
the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung
Association and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The world's nations are meeting March 18-23, 2002, in Geneva, Switzerland,
for the fourth round of negotiations on the Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control (FCTC), the international tobacco control treaty proposed by the
World Health Organization (WHO).  The goal is to complete the treaty by May
2003.  The Framework Convention Update will provide periodic reports on
developments at the negotiations, focused on the actions of the U.S.
delegation.

The Negotiations So Far: Glacial Movement... In the Wrong Direction

After three days of negotiations, delegates have made little progress in
narrowing their differences, and any movement appears to have been in the
wrong direction on key issues such as smuggling and eliminating tobacco
subsidies (details below).  On these issues a troubling divide is emerging
between developing nations seeking strong provisions and developed nations
seeking weaker ones.

Nevertheless, there is still hope for a strong treaty as so little has
changed so far this week.  In fact, little actual negotiation is taking
place as delegates continue to painstakingly read through the proposed text
and restate their positions rather than seeking to compromise.  After a
two-hour Wednesday session spent on only one paragraph full of brackets and
parentheses listing alternative texts, a Spanish delegate described the
process as "chaos," adding, "We have been going for two hours and we haven't
even gotten past the second line."  The Thai chair of the painful session
said the process was necessary to show the absurdity of the current approach
and move delegates toward actual negotiations.

The frustration was best reflected in the headline of the daily Bulletin
issued to delegates by tobacco control advocates: STOP TALKING, START
NEGOTIATING.

Issues Update: Smuggling and Tobacco Subsidies

Smuggling: The United States and the European Union, especially the United
Kingdom, were among nations seeking to weaken provisions calling for a
tracking and marking system to combat cigarette smuggling.  The U.S. argued
these provisions should be negotiated as part of a protocol, or side
agreement, which the U.S. hopes to push forward at a meeting on
smuggling it
has proposed to hold in New York in July.  Even tobacco control stalwarts
Canada and Australia failed to support the smuggling provisions, with Canada
raising concerns about cost and Australia questioning whether the Framework
Convention was the right place to address the issue.

Tobacco Subsidies: A provision calling for gradual elimination of tobacco
subsidies also came under attack.  Japan led the charge, delivering a
ringing defense of the importance of tobacco farming to its economy.  The
European Union said it might be able to support elimination of subsidies,
but only after it finishes studying the issue around 2005.  Surprisingly,
the main proponents of ending subsidies are tobacco-growing developing
countries in Africa and the Caribbean that do not provide subsidies and want
to level the playing field by eliminating subsidies in Europe, Japan and the
U.S.  The U.S. was silent on the issue.

Philip Morris Threat Shows Why Treaty Must Put Health Before Trade
Just prior to the opening of the FCTC negotiations, Philip Morris warned the
Canadian government that it will seek to overturn that country's proposed
ban on the use of the words "light" and "mild" on cigarette labeling as a
violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and global trade rules.
Philip Morris, which owns a significant stake in Rothmans Benson &
Hedges in
Canada, could sue under a provision of NAFTA that allows foreign companies
to seek compensation if their investments have been hurt by a NAFTA
country's laws or regulations.  Tobacco companies have a long history of
challenging nations' tobacco control initiatives as violations of trade
agreements.  Philip Morris's latest action shows why it is critical that the
Framework Convention include a provision recognizing that when
principles of
free trade and public health conflict, public health concerns should take
priority.  An "informal drafting group" has been appointed to negotiate this
issue behind closed doors.

Can the U.S. Play Well with Others?

In an example of how slowly the negotiations are proceeding, delegates spent
considerable time debating whether to include a clause stating that parties
to the convention "shall cooperate with other parties" in implementing its
provisions.  The U.S. was one of the objectors.  The U.S. argued that "we
can't decide on this phrase until we decide what we're going to be
cooperating on."

U.S. Senators Call on President Bush to Support Strong FCTC

Eight U.S. Senators have sent a strong letter to President Bush urging him
to intervene "to restore U.S. credibility as an international leader in
tobacco control and ensure that a strong treaty, which protects human
health, emerges."

Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Kerry (D-MA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Edward
Kennedy (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bob Graham (D-FL), Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said in the letter that the U.S. bears a special
responsibility for the worldwide growth in tobacco consumption in the
developing world, particularly by women and children.  Pointing to the
increasing number of deaths from tobacco-related diseases among the people
of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Eastern Europe, they told Bush "for many
years our nation promoted the export of tobacco products and actively fought
efforts by other nations to adopt regulatory measures to protect the health
of their citizens."

The Senators told Bush that in previous FCTC negotiating sessions, the U.S.
delegation "has repeatedly used considerable leverage to weaken the treaty
by insisting on the inclusion of language that would benefit U.S. tobacco
companies rather than public health."  The letter highlighted weak U.S.
positions on advertising, secondhand smoke, deceptive terms such as "light"
and "low-tar" and health vs. trade.

Tell President Bush to Support Strong Framework Convention

Through the websites of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American
Lung Association, tobacco control advocates can contact President Bush to
urge him and the U.S. delegation to support a strong Framework
Convention on
Tobacco Control.  Click on the links below to send a fax to President Bush.
http://tfk.grassroots.com/intl/fctc
http://lungaction.org/campaign/treaty


----------------------

REPORT FROM DAY ONE of INB4 -- Negotiations on FCTC

Pakistan and the Dominican Republic vied for the Marlboro Man award,
with 
Pakistan taking an early lead by talking and talking about process and 
procedure, thus delaying progress on substance. Pakistan is also the
lone 
dissenter to EMRO's (Middle East's) strong positions. However, the
Dominican 
Republic prevailed as the first repeat winner of this shameful distinction.

In the section of the treaty that deals with education and public
awareness 
(G.1), the Dominican Republic opposed the provision about facilitating 
public access to information on the tobacco industry on the grounds that 
details on industry logistics, sales, or markets are confidential.

Then, with regard to tobacco advertising and promotion (G.2.a,b), the 
Dominican Republic argued that there should only be standard-setting or 
regulation. The chair of the Working Group was so incredulous that he
made 
the delegate repeat himself. He also said that their domestic law does
not 
require any industry to disclose the costs of advertising and marketing
-- 
only profit and loss -- and that it's UP TO THIS INDUSTRY TO DECIDE WHAT
TO 
DISCLOSE! After 50 years of lying. . .

One of the Dominican Republic delegates, who was also registered for
INB3, 
is the executive director of the Tobacco Institute (a lobbying group for 
Philip Morris, etc.)!

What's hopeful is that some Latin American countries, including Brazil,
are 
speaking out for positions that are stronger than the regional consensus
-- 
and even sometimes countering the Dominican Republic and other weak 
countries. Paraguay, Peru, and Panama stuck their necks out to highlight
the 
importance of the tobacco industry not participating in tobacco control 
(G.1.e.iv). These countries need to hear words of encouragement and
support. 
Please fax or email their missions in Geneva. If you need that
information, 
please let me or Patti (patti@infact.org) know.

Australia proposed an informal drafting group (informal sessions often 
exclude NGOs) to deal with definitions in the treaty and perhaps a
second to 
determine what goes into the protocols vs. the main text. NATT members
in 
Geneva are worried that the protocols will become a dumping ground for 
tough issues that countries don't have the political will to resolve.

The rest of the day was spent in Working Group 1, catching up on work
that 
should have been completed at INB3 by plowing through all the text to
gather 
all the possible additions, without any debate or resolution.

Here are a few things you can do:

Contact the Dominican Republic to express disappointment in their
positions 
(and that fact that the Tobacco Institute is on their delegation!) that 
earned them a second Marlboro Man "award."

Contact Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, and Panama to let them know how much we 
appreciate their going beyond the regional consensus. The best way to 
contact them is through their mission in Geneva. This information is 
available online or you can contact me. 

Contact Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia and urge them to continue to support
a 
strong African regional position, particularly on advertising, trade,
and 
political influence. 

Please let me or a member of the NATT team know if you need emails or
faxes 
for the missions. The NATT team in Geneva includes Bode of Environmental 
Rights Action (Nigeria), Kathy Mulvey and Patti Lynn of Infact (US),
Bejon 
Misra of VOICE (India), and Muyunda Illilonga of the Consumers
Association 
of Zambia. John Kapito of the Consumers Association of Malawi is
recovering 
from injuries sustained in a car accident and was unable to make it as a 
result. We wish him a speedy recovery.

Sincerely,
Lucinda Wykle-Rosenberg
Infact


--------------------------




Press Release

For Immediate Release:						Contact:
21 March 2002							Patti Lynn  079.221.7848

PAKISTAN WINS MARLBORO MAN AWARD FOR STALLING TREATY PROGRESS

Amid Concern that Delay in Treaty Timeline Benefits Tobacco Industry at
Expense of Health NATT Members Urge Countries to Move Ahead Strongly 



Geneva—In the third day of negotiations in the current round of tobacco
treaty talks, Pakistan was named winner of the Marlboro Man award for
taking the lead role in blatantly slowing down progress. The award,
bestowed by the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals
(NATT), exposes and challenges countries for espousing treaty positions
that benefit the tobacco industry at the expense of public health.
Extremely vocal in its obstruction of the process, Pakistan took every
available opportunity on day three to bog down talks and as the sole
hold-out against consensus managed to block what little progress was
possible in a frustrating day of talks.

"There are millions of lives at stake here, a global health crisis that
demands urgent action and acceleration of treaty talks. While many
countries are earnestly trying to push ahead through a challenging
process, Pakistan is deliberately slowing down progress. Those who stand
to benefit from a delay in the FCTC are the perpetuators of this global
epidemic—the tobacco transnationals," says Kathryn Mulvey of Infact
(US), a NATT member.

Internal documents made public this week reveal that Philip Morris hired
PR firm Mongoven, Biscoe, and Duchin (MBD) several years ago to help it
challenge the FCTC. MBD, notorious for its behind-the-scenes efforts to
undermine advocacy on consumer and environmental protection, advised
Philip Morris in 1997 to delay the adoption of a convention. Efforts to
interfere with progress on the FCTC are consistent with Philip Morris’s
plan to avoid meaningful regulation.

Pakistan also advocated strongly for keeping qualifying language in the
treaty, including wording that if adopted could open the door for
commercial interests to prevail over public health in the implemetation
of tobacco control policy. These efforts fly in the face of the work of
the many countries that have been working diligently to protect public
policy, including the FCTC, from interference by tobacco corporations
throughout this process. 

"The challenge at this point is to map out a new path that will enable
negotiations to move ahead decisively without allowing the wealthy
nations where tobacco giants are based—the US, Japan, and UK—to dictate
the results," says Akinbode Oluwafemi of Environmental Rights Action
(Nigeria), a NATT member.




The award is named after Philip Morris’s notorious advertising icon
because of the Marlboro Man’s central role in spreading tobacco
addiction globally. The image was described by its creator as "the right
image to capture the youth market’s fancy…a perfect symbol of
independence and individualistic rebellion." Philip Morris has ridden to
the top of the industry on the strength of the Marlboro Man advertising
and promotional campaign, which has made Marlboro the world’s leading
cigarette brand. 

The winner of the Marlboro Man award will be announced each day by the
Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals, based on the
previous day’s negotiations. The Dominican Republic has also been given
the Marlboro Man award this week.

—30—

The Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) includes
75 NGOs from more than 50 countries working for a strong, enforceable
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. NATT members in Geneva for INB4
deciding the Marlboro Man awards are: Environmental Rights Action
(Nigeria), Infact (US), National Council Against Smoking (South Africa),
VOICE (India), and Zambian Consumers Association.