[Intl-tobacco] SF Chronicle: Editorial - Merchants of Death

[Robert Weissman]

Merchants of death

Sunday, May 19, 2002
San Francisco Chronicle

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/05/19/ED4431.DTL


IT'S MORE than ironic that the United States, which has taken admirable
steps in recent years to limit tobacco smoking domestically, should be the
main purveyor of lung cancer abroad.

Unfortunately, the Bush administration is kowtowing to the powerful tobacco
industry by blocking progress in negotiations to create an international
treaty against smoking.

U.S. tobacco firms supply nearly 6 trillion cigarettes, or one-fifth of all
those smoked worldwide, making the United States the world's No. 1 exporter
of cigarettes. It's estimated that 10 million people will die annually from
tobacco by the year 2025.

Shamefully, U.S. firms are focusing their marketing on developing nations,
especially in Asia, where smoking has yet to catch on big. Splashy
advertising and clothes merchandising campaigns are focused on women and
children, often featuring glamorous American celebrities such as Jewel and
Samantha Cole.

In talks at the World Health Organization over a proposed Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control, U.S. diplomats have taken a hard line. For
example, they are blocking language giving priority to domestic health laws
whenever these measures conflict with international trade treaties (which
bar some government regulations as barriers to free trade and investment).

"While we continue to work to protect our own children from the dangers of
tobacco, we must stop exporting death to children overseas," said Rep. Nancy
Pelosi, D-San Francisco, a longtime leader of anti-tobacco efforts in
Congress.

"The Marlboro Man is not a suitable ambassador for the United States,
but he
may be the most visible representative we are presenting to young people all
over the world," Pelosi added. "We can and must set a better example."

We agree wholeheartedly.