[Intl-tobacco] U.S. Public Health Groups Tell U.S. Delegation to Tobacco Treaty Negotiations: Go Home

[Robert Weissman]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE=09=09CONTACT: Nicole Dueffert
February 25, 2003=09=09=09=09=09         011 41 79 470 16 78 (Geneva mobile=
)
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09         Judith Wilkenfeld
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09         202-413-2488 (U.S. mobile)

Leading U.S. Public Health Groups Tell U.S. Delegation to Tobacco Treaty
Negotiations: Go Home

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (February 25, 2003) =96 The American Cancer Society,
American Heart Association, American Lung Association and Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids today called on the United States government to withdraw
from the negotiations on the proposed international tobacco treaty, the
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), rather than continue to
undermine the efforts of the rest of the world to adopt a strong treaty.
The final round of treaty negotiations is currently taking place in Geneva
under the auspices of the World Heath Organization (WHO), with a goal of
finishing by February 28.  The U.S. delegation has stepped up efforts to
water down nearly every provision of the treaty and sought to block other
nations=92 attempts to strengthen the treaty.

=93The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is a historic opportunity fo=
r
the world's nations to address a global tobacco epidemic that is projected
to kill 500 million people alive today,=94 said Matthew L. Myers, president=
,
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.  =93Since the United States has not support=
ed
a strong, effective treaty, its negotiators should pack their bags and go
home.  Instead of supporting provisions in the treaty that would protect
public health and save lives, the U.S. delegation has chosen to stand in th=
e
way.  They have played the role of obstructionist, suggesting weakening
amendments and ineffective proposals and strong-arming other delegations to
support them.  Rather than protecting public health, they have continuously
chosen to protect the tobacco industry.=94

=93The U.S. government has demeaned the value of one of the greatest docume=
nts
in world history, the United States Constitution, by using it to defend its
opposition to a ban on tobacco advertising,=94 said Dr. Alfred Munzer, past
president and spokesman for the American Lung Association at the
negotiations.  =93The U.S. government has squandered an opportunity to lead
the efforts to develop a strong Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
 It
has instead chosen to be the handmaiden of the tobacco industry and to use
its power to sabotage and to weaken the treaty.   The most honorable thing
the U.S. can do now to ensure a strong Framework Convention is to be
forthright and honest in its opposition to an effective convention and to
tell its delegation to go home.=94

=93At this crucial juncture, the United States government is working
methodically to weaken virtually every aspect of this treaty,=94 said Dr. J=
ohn
Seffrin, Chief Executive Officer, American Cancer Society.   =93This is
unconscionable.  We call on the U.S. government to observe the first
rule of
the Hippocratic Oath:  Do No Harm.  The time has come for the U.S. to stand
aside and allow the rest of the world to complete a treaty strong enough to
change the course of the tobacco epidemic.=94

"The United States has been a world leader in tobacco prevention efforts
within its own borders, especially for kids.  It is disgraceful that we are
now leading efforts to prevent other countries from doing the same,"
said M.
Cass Wheeler, CEO of the American Heart Association.
As home to Philip Morris, the world=92s largest tobacco company, the U.S. h=
as
a special obligation to provide leadership in negotiating a strong treaty
that can reduce the alarming rates of death and disease caused by tobacco
use. Public health groups had hoped that, with the deadline for completing
the treaty approaching, the U.S. would change course and take a leadership
role in protecting public health.  Unfortunately, the U.S. has remained a
primary obstacle to a strong treaty.  The time has come for the U.S. to get
out of the way and let other nations get on with the important work of
negotiating a treaty that can stop the tobacco industry=92s assault on the
developing world.

During the negotiations, the U.S. delegation has introduced proposals that
would not only weaken the treaty but retard the process of compromise among
delegates who are seeking to craft a strong public health treaty.  They
include:

=B7=09Advertising:  The U.S. delegation has continued to fight inclusion of=
 a
treaty provision calling for a ban on tobacco advertising to the extent
permitted by each nation=92s constitution.  There is strong scientific
evidence that the most effective way to eliminate the influence of tobacco
marketing on young people is through a comprehensive advertising ban.

=B7=09Health vs. Trade: The majority of countries have supported a provisio=
n to
protect tobacco control measures from trade challenges, while the United
States has led the fight against such a provision. The treaty should
recognize that the lethal nature of tobacco products requires that they be
treated differently from the beneficial products to which international
trade rules normally apply. This issue is critical since the tobacco
industry has a long history of using trade law as a tool to thwart tobacco
control policies, including several times with the support of the U.S.
government in the 1980s and 1990s.  Recently, Philip Morris has threatened
to challenge Canada=92s proposed ban on misleading terms such as =93light=
=94 and
=93mild=94 as a violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and an
international agreement on patents and trademarks.

=B7=09Secondhand smoke: The U.S. delegation introduced a proposal that is a
smokescreen, obligating parties to neither adopt strong measures nor take
any action on secondhand smoke.  Secondhand smoke kills.  Given that there
is no safe level of exposure, protection must be obligatory and not
voluntary.

The World Health Organization 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 curren=
t
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.