[Intl-tobacco] Aug 1st rally in NYC (update) - please forward widely

[Robert Weissman]

Here is an updated version of the announcement we sent out earlier this
week. Please note that the LOCATION HAS CHANGED. To download a one page
flyer about the event go to:
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/event/nycdemo/flyer.doc

---please forward widely!---

**********************************
    DEMONSTRATION AT THE UN:
U.S., SAVE LIVES, NOT BIG TOBACCO!
**********************************

The World Health Organization is currently negotiating an international
tobacco control treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. A
strong treaty could help save tens of millions of lives. A weak treaty
will guarantee "business as usual" for the global tobacco industry. THE
U.S. IS WORKING, ON BEHALF OF PHILIP MORRIS, TO SABOTAGE THE FCTC
NEGOTIATIONS!

WHAT:    Protest the U.S. delegation's destructive
         role in FCTC negotiations

WHERE:   *** Note - Location has changed ***
         UN Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
         E 47th St between 1st & 2nd Ave

WHEN:    12:30-1pm, Thursday, August 1st
         (speakers will begin at 1pm)

EVENT ENDORSED BY:
American Lung Association, American Lung Association of New York State,
American Lung Association of the City of New York, Center for Tobacco
Free New York, Chinese American Planning Council, Essential Action,
Infact, New York's Asian American and Pacific Islander Tobacco Control
Network, NYC Coalition For A Smoke Free City, SmokeFree Educational
Services, Inc.

SPEAKERS TO INCLUDE:
* Joanne Koldare,  Director, NYC Coalition for a Smoke Free City
* Clive Bates, Director, Action on Smoking and Health - UK
* Konstantin Krasovsky, Executive Director, Alcohol and Drug Information
Center - Ukraine
* Inoussa Saouna, President, SOS Tabagisme - Niger
* Eduardo Bianco, Chairman, Tobacco Control Committee, Sindicato Medico
del Uruguay
* Akinbode Olufemi, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth -
Nigeria
* Tim Nichols, Director of Government Affairs, American Lung Association
of New York
* Patti Lynn, Campaign Director, Infact
* Youth Representatives, Reality Check

FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVENT, CONTACT:
Anna White, Essential Action (202-387-8030, awhite@essential.org)
Robert Weissman, Essential Action (202-387-8030, rob@essential.org)


*** FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ISSUE, READ BELOW ***

BACKGROUND

The Global Tobacco Epidemic

The World Health Organization projects that tobacco will kill 10 million
people annually by the year 2030 – the equivalent of 70 jet planes
crashing each and every day. An incredible 70% of these deaths will
occur in low-income countries – the regions of the world with the fewest
resources to counter the deadly epidemic and the large multinational
tobacco corporations that profit from spreading it. If urgent action is
not taken, tobacco will soon become the leading cause of death
worldwide, causing more deaths than HIV, tuberculosis, maternal
mortality, automobile accidents, homicide and suicide combined. For more
information about Big Tobacco's misdeeds around the world go to:
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

In an effort to counter the escalating global toll of tobacco-related
death and disease, 191 member states of the World Health Assemby are
currently negotiating the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Some
of the issues that negotiators are addressing: tobacco advertising and
sponsorship, smuggling, and taxation. While the original intent of the
treaty was to save tens of millions of lives, it appears (after four
rounds of negotiations) that the resulting treaty is more likely to give
the global tobacco industry free reign to continue “business as usual.”
For more information about the FCTC see: http://www.fctc.org.

Bush Administration Puts Big Tobacco Above Public Health

Despite the U.S. public health community's unanimous calls for a strong
FCTC, the U.S. delegation’s positions are almost identical to Philip
Morris' recommendations. Philip Morris, the largest transnational
tobacco company in the world, as a key contributor to the Bush
presidential campaign and gave Republicans about $3 million in the last
election cycle. The U.S. says that its goal is a "ratifiable" treaty,
but the U.S. has a long record of NOT ratifying international treaties
(e.g. International Rights of the Child, the Landmine Treaty, the Kyoto
Protocol). A treaty that is "ratifiable" by the U.S. is likely to
protect corporate tobacco's profits rather than properly address the
massive scale of the epidemic. Philip Morris itself has said that it
"wants a treaty that will bring it stability," and the U.S. delegation
seems to be the company's main avenue for getting what it wants
(Remember, what is best for Philip Morris is always WORST for public
health. More profits from cigarettes = more cigarette consumption = more
death. When Philip Morris wins, people die). There is a growing
international consensus that the U.S. could best aid international
tobacco control efforts by dropping out of the FCTC negotiations
altogether -- better to have a strong treaty that the U.S. does not
ratify, than a weak one that it does.

     To read a letter that Rep. Henry Waxman sent President Bush in
     November 2001 and additional analyses on how the U.S.
     delegation's positions on the FCTC compare to Philip Morris'
     recommendations go to:
     http://www.house.gov/reform/min/inves_tobacco/index_accord.htm

     Waxman Critical of President's Tobacco Stance Policy:
     California representative accuses administration of trying to
     block stricter global standards for industry.
     By Ronald D. White, Los Angeles Times (November 19, 2001)
     http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/intl-tobacco/2001q4/000610.html

Why is a Strong FCTC Relevant to New York City?

In New York City, where over 40% of residents are foreign-born, the
importance of a strong international treaty on tobacco control is
especially acute. Internal tobacco industry documents indicate that the
tobacco industry has used cross-border marketing strategies to target
recent immigrants to NYC. And smoking rates within immigrant communities
and within the populations of their countries of origin are often
similar. New York and New York City recently passed large tobacco tax
increases which are sure to significantly reduce smoking rates. Philip
Morris will likely make up for this loss in sales by marketing
cigarettes and thwarting legislation more agressively overseas. As is,
transnational tobacco corporations frequently use NYC names, images, and
icons in their advertising abroad (e.g. "Manhattan," the Statue of
Liberty, the NYC skyline) to link smoking with "freedom" and the
"American Dream." For examples see:
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/photos/usa.html.

Why Protest at the UN?

On July 30 – August 1, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is convening an International Conference
on Illicit Tobacco Trade (ICITT) at the United Nations Headquarters. On
the last day of the conference, we want to send a strong message to the
U.S. delegation and international attendees, that U.S. tobacco control
advocates will not tolerate their government putting Philip Morris’
profits above the lives of millions of people around the world. If the
U.S. cannot "shape up" it should "ship out." For more information on the
ICITT see http://www.atf.treas.gov/tobacco/icitt/

What Would a Strong FCTC Look Like?

The Framework Convention Alliance, an alliance of 160 non-governmental
organizations from around the world, has identified 10 key issues that
the FCTC should include, such as the principal that the FCTC should
supercede international trade treaties:
http://www.fctc.org/inb4_10_key_issues.shtml