[Intl-tobacco] U.S. Should Lead Effort to Protect Public Health or GetOut of the Way Say U.S. Health Groups

[Robert Weissman]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE				CONTACT: Nicole Dueffert/Joel Spivak
October 11, 2002                          tel.202-296-5469
                                           In Geneva Oct. 13-25: 202-352-4223
(U.S. mobile)


As Negotiations Resume on Proposed Tobacco Control Treaty (Oct. 14-25), U.S.
Should Lead Effort to Protect Public Health or Get Out of the Way

Statement of American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American
Lung Association and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

WASHINGTON (October 11, 2002) - As negotiations resume next week on the
proposed tobacco control treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
(FCTC), it is time for the United States to lead the effort to protect
public health around the world or to get out of the way and let other
nations negotiate a treaty that can help protect their citizens from
tobacco.  This fifth round of negotiations, to be held Oct. 14-25 in Geneva,
Switzerland, is critical as negotiators will work from a new, streamlined
text and the World Health Organization (WHO) has set a deadline of May 2003
for completing the treaty.

So far, the United States, along with Germany and Japan, has led efforts to
weaken the treaty. Whether the negotiations succeed could very well depend
on whether the United States reverses course and puts public health over the
interests of the tobacco industry.  U.S. leadership is essential to
determining whether the outcome is a strong treaty that can reduce the
terrible toll of tobacco around the world or a weak treaty that protects the
interests of the tobacco industry.  If the U.S. is unwilling to provide this
leadership, it should at least stop protecting the interests of the tobacco
industry and let other nations negotiate an effective treaty that advances
efforts to reduce the terrible toll of tobacco around the world.

If a strong treaty is negotiated, it will serve as a catalyst for tobacco
control efforts both globally and within individual countries.  On the other
hand, a weak or poorly drafted treaty will be used by the tobacco industry
to argue against stronger domestic legislation in the United
States and around the world. Unfortunately, during previous negotiating
sessions, the U.S. government has supported weak provisions in the treaty
on:

Health before trade: It is important not only that the treaty commit nations
to enacting effective tobacco control measures, but that it also protects
the rights of nations to enact these measures by shielding them from being
challenged as violations of trade agreements. Decisions about the trade of
tobacco should be made with regard to how best to protect the
public health of the citizens of the world.

This issue is critical as the tobacco industry has a long history of using
trade law as a tool to thwart tobacco control policies, several times with
the support of the U.S. government in the 1980s.  In a current example,
Philip Morris has threatened to challenge Canada's proposed ban on
misleading terms such as "light" and "mild" as a violation of the North
American Free Trade Agreement and an international agreement on patents and
trademarks.

Unfortunately, the U.S. has supported FCTC provisions that would subordinate
the public health provisions of the treaty to trade considerations.  In
contrast, the majority of countries, including many U.S. allies and trading
partners, have supported provisions explicitly stating that public health
measures enacted in accordance with the treaty are to take priority when
they conflict with trade rules.

Misleading descriptors such as "light" and "low-tar:" During past
negotiations, the U.S. has supported provisions that would allow the tobacco
industry to keep deceiving consumers through the use of misleading terms
such as "light," "low tar" and "mild."  The U.S. has not supported a
ban on these terms despite the conclusions of a November 2001 report by the
National Cancer Institute that the use of such terms is "deceptive", has
misled consumers into believing such cigarettes are less harmful, and
constitute "an urgent public health issue."

Advertising: During past negotiations the U.S. has opposed provisions that
would allow a ban on advertising in nations whose constitutions allow one.
The evidence is strong that the most effective way to eliminate the
influence of tobacco marketing on young people is through comprehensive
restrictions.  Many nations support the inclusion in the treaty of a
provision banning all direct and indirect tobacco advertising, reserving to
those countries with constitutional limitations the right to enact lesser
restrictions.  As eight U.S. Senators put it in a letter to President Bush
in March, "While there are U.S. Constitutional issues involving advertising
bans, the U.S. should not prevent other nations from adopting advertising
bans in keeping with their own legal systems when the U.S. Surgeon General
has concluded that such limits have been shown to reduce tobacco
consumption, especially among youth."   The U.S. should
stop opposing the inclusion of language in the treaty calling for the
elimination of tobacco advertising when this would have no practical effect
on the United States.

The WHO estimates that there are 1.1 billion smokers in the world today, a
number expected to rise to 1.64 billion by the year 2025.   About four
million people die each year from tobacco use. If current trends continue,
this figure will reach about 10 million per year by the early 2030s,
with 70
percent of those deaths occurring in developing countries. Based on current
smoking trends, tobacco will soon become the leading cause of death
worldwide, causing more deaths than HIV, maternal mortality, automobile
accidents, homicide and suicide combined.

                                             --30--