[Intl-tobacco] FCTC Clips

[Robert Weissman]

FCTC CLIPS

1. AP
2. Bloomberg
3. Reuters
4. Boston Globe
5. The Nation (Thailand)

Tobacco treaty agreed despite U.S., German, some Asian  objections   Sat
Mar 1, 1:40 PM ET

  By CLARE NULLIS, Associated Press Writer

 GENEVA - Concerns about indigenous peoples' rights, free cigarettes for
minors  and the size of health warnings may stand in the way of the
United States  adopting an ambitious global anti-tobacco accord.

 Germany said it found the plans for tight advertising  controls
unacceptable, while China and Japan also  expressed concern.

 The concerns =97 in particular those voiced by the United  States =97 mean
there may be pressure on ministers to  renegotiate parts of the text at
the meeting in May =97 and  thus risk unraveling the entire accord.

 After nearly four years of negotiations, the language of the  U.N.
treaty was agreed in the early hours of Saturday by  more than 170
countries and will now go to the World  Health Organization's annual
ministerial meeting in May for  adoption.

 But the United States immediately signaled that it had  serious
problems with the wording =97 which was tougher  than even anti-smoking
activists had expected.

 "We had hoped this could have been concluded as a  consensus text,"
said U.S. delegate David Hohman.  "Unfortunately this is not possible."

 Hohman told exhausted delegates that Washington would examine all its
options. He hinted  that the United States might press for parts of the
text to be renegotiated at the forthcoming  WHO assembly.

 The accord, called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,
proposes a ban on  cigarette advertising. Countries whose constitution
prohibits this =97 Washington says it would  violate free speech =97 should
impose sweeping restrictions on domestic and cross-border  advertising
and sponsorship.

 It is also tough on labeling, proposing that health warnings should
occupy at least 30 percent  of the pack and encouraging the use of
pictures of health problems like diseased gums. It  urges governments to
limit the use of low-tar, light and mild on packs, although does not ban
 this.

 For the first time in an international treaty, the concept is
introduced that manufacturers may be  held liable for the suffering
caused by their product. But, to avoid treading on a legal minefield,
the wording is fairly vague.

 It says governments should consider tax hikes and there should be far
more international  cooperation to stamp out rampant smuggling. It also
calls for policies against secondhand  smoke that are now routine in the
United States.

 "The convention is a real milestone in the history of global public
health," said WHO  Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland, who made the
anti-tobacco campaign the focal point  of her five-year term.

 "Tobacco kills in every country of the world, and probably most of us
know someone who has  died," she added. "Due to the actions that will
follow from our shared commitments, millions and  millions of lives will
be saved"

 Although the United States has some of the toughest anti-tobacco
legislation and long since  banned television advertising, it was
pilloried by health activists throughout the negotiations.  Developing
countries were suspicious that the United States =97 home to the world's
biggest  exporter Philip Morris =97 was more interested in protecting Big
Tobacco than the health of the  poor.

 The U.S. delegation tried in vain to insert a provision allowing
"reservations" a device whereby  a government can opt out of an
individual clause which is problematic.

 U.S. officials said such opt-out flexibility would be crucial in
determining the acceptability of the  treaty.

 "We are disappointed that reservations are excluded which is a
complication for our legislative  process," Hohman said.

 Hohman said the proposals for minimum size of health warnings on packs
were unacceptable.  The cigarette industry has argued this is in breach
of its trademark rights.

 He also criticized the provisions to ban distribution of free
cigarettes to the public. Federal  legislation allows for the regulation
of commercially sold goods but not free products, he said.

 And finally, he said the United States could not agree to wording
voicing concern about high  smoking levels in "indigenous peoples."
Washington fears that use of "peoples" rather than  "people" could imply
sovereignty and would send a wrong signal to native American Indians.

 Anti-smoking campaigners dismissed the U.S. concerns.

 "We didn't expect the United States to ratify anyway," said Clive
Bates, director of ASH UK.  "They haven't ratified treaties like this
for years. Their presence here is academic."

---------

WHO Adopts Tobacco Control Text; U.S., Germany May Not Ratify
By Marc Wolfensberger

Geneva, March 1 (Bloomberg) -- The World Health Organization adopted the
final text of an international convention on tobacco control designed to
cut cigarette consumption and reduce the 4.9 million deaths a year
related to tobacco.

The treaty, to which the WHO's 192 member governments put final touches
early this morning after more than three years of talks, will restrict
the use of terms like ``light' or ``mild,' set standards for health
labels on cigarette packets and protect non-smokers from the smoke of
others.

``It's a milestone in international collaboration in a globalized
world,' WHO Director General Gro Harlem Brundtland said in a statement
obtained from WHO. ``It means nations will be working systemically
together to make this world a better and healthier place.'

The U.S., home to some of the world's largest tobacco companies
including Philip Morris USA, and Germany may not ratify the treaty
because of the planned ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and
sponsorship, WHO said. The draft treaty, due to be signed by WHO member
governments in May, needs 40 signatory states to come into force.

The current text states that a complete ban on advertising should be the
ultimate goal for signatories to the convention and encourages the early
elaboration of a procedure to eliminate cross- border advertising and
promotion.

``There's a risk that the U.S. and Germany will not ratify the treaty,'
WHO spokeswoman Julie Archer said in a telephone interview. ``The two
countries would like the ban on advertising to be less restrictive.'
Germany's stance may influence other European Union member states, she
said.

Anti-tobacco groups welcomed the final text of the treaty, saying
developing countries led the way toward ``meaningful, effective'
measures in the face of ``enormous pressure' from the tobacco industry.

When in force, the treaty will ``significantly reduce (the) ability (of
tobacco companies) to spread addiction, disease and death around the
world,' Kathryn Mulvey, Executive Director of Infact, a Boston-based
group campaigning to make companies more accountable, said in a
statement.

At present rates, the WHO says tobacco-related illnesses will kill 10
million people a year by 2020.

URL:
http://www.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?T=3Dmarketsquote99_relnews.ht&s=3DAPmCR =
ZRS.V0hPIEFk

 171 nations reach smoking control treaty

By John Zarocostas >From the International Desk Published 3/1/2003 2:12
AM View printer-friendly version

 GENEVA, Switzerland, March 1 (UPI) -- Senior officials from 171
countries agreed early Saturday on a historic draft global health treaty
to stem deaths from smoking related diseases, which last year were
blamed for 4.9 million deaths.

"This is a major step forward for the health of peoples and nations,"
said Gro Harlem Brundtland, director general of the World Health
Organization, the agency which sponsored the talks.

The WHO estimates the number of smokers worldwide currently at over 1.3
billion, and also projects the number of smoking related deaths to reach
10 million a year by the early 2020s. Seventy percent of these are
expected to be in the developing world unless firm measures are taken
curb the the use of tobacco.

According to Tommy G. Thompson, U.S. secretary of health, "more than
400,00 people die each year from a smoking related diseases -- primarily
lung cancer, heart disease and chronic disease -- resulting in
expenditures of more than $75 billion annually in direct medical costs."

"I think it (the draft treaty) puts tobacco on the global public health
agenda for the first time," Dr. Alfred Munster, past president and
spokesman for the American lung association told reporters.

"This treaty will result in unprecedented global action by countries to
reduce tobacco use," Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst at the
Canadian Cancer society, told United Press International.

"It is an extremely important element of the emerging international
legal order and the first multilateral framework convention ever by the
WHO," said The Brazilian chairman of the talks ambassador, Luis Felipe
Seixas Correa.

However, Germany and the United States gave clear indications they had
concerns with some provisions related to advertising, marketing and labelin=
g.

The United States said it "cannot accept" provisions related to
packaging and labeling, advertising and sales and by minors, and which
fail to take take into account the separation of powers and the role of sta=
tes.

"The United States has systematically tried to undermine the strength of
virtually every key issue in this convention. It's pretty disgraceful,"
Ira Shapiro, consultant adviser to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids,
and a former senior U.S. trade negotiator, told United Press International

The United States did not oppose the draft framework convention on
tobacco control put forward to the World Health Assembly in May, where
it is expected to be adopted. However U.S. officials said they will
search for flexibility, or additions to the draft, that would enable it
to sign off on the accord.

However, diplomats are optimistic that given the strong global support
for the draft accord, Germany and the United States will probably come roun=
d.

Brundtland told reporters its "very highly unlikely" the world health
assembly will reopen the text to accommodate one country.

"There's no way to stop this treaty," said one senior health diplomat,
noting if any country tried to block adoption of the treaty by
consensus, passage could be secured by mustering the necessary
two-thirds support of all delegations present and voting.

China, which has over 300 million smokers, said it was a historic and
"epic making" moment ... history will remember today."

The groundbreaking pact, reached after three and a half years of
marathon talks, includes rules on product regulation, tobacco taxation
and tough norms to ban or restrict advertising and promotion -- and to
combat smuggling or illicit trade.

It also provides measures against the risk of passive smoking.

The deal was clinched after developing countries from the Middle East,
Southeast Asia and Africa, put up a "united front" and pushed for tough
provisions opposed by the United States and Germany and some other
countries, senior health diplomats said.

The decision in the end to back the accord by China, Cuba and Japan,
which had earlier threatened a tough line on certain provisions, also
surprised many negotiators.

On Tuesday, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association,
the American Lung Association and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
alleged the United States was trying to water down provisions aimed at
reaching a strong treaty and called on it to withdraw from the talks.

The U.S. government "squandered an opportunity" to lead said Dr. Munster
and added, "=CDt has instead chosen to be the handmaiden of the tobacco ind=
ustry."

South Africa said for the first time the 46 African nations had spoken
"with a single voice" and was applauded when it noted the treaty will
strengthen poor nations in facing up to the influential tobacco industry.

"They will not find us as weak and defenseless as they have found us in
the past," South Africa said.

"Tobacco kills and the addicting nature of nicotine is no different than
heroin and cocaine yet tobacco is unabatedly being marketed worldwide,"
said Dr. Carmelita Canila, health policy advisor at Consumers International=
.

 URL: http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=3D20030301-120049-9319r


---------


 Global Treaty Seeks to Wean World Off Smoking Fri Feb 28,10:16 PM ET


By Richard Waddington

GENEVA (Reuters) - In a global bid to quit a habit that kills almost
five million people a year, nearly 170 countries backed on Saturday a
tough pact against smoking, including advertising bans and pledges to
boost tobacco taxes.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world's first
international treaty on health, was concluded after a marathon 18-hour
final session at the end of two weeks of hard bargaining by World Health
Organization (WHO) member states.

However, the United States and Germany, two of 171 countries attending
the talks, said they could not accept parts of the deal, although they
cannot stop it being endorsed by WHO's annual assembly in May.

The pact seeks to tackle the "devastating" consequences of tobacco use
and exposure to smoke with measures ranging from a halt to advertising
and sponsorship within five years to a crackdown on smuggling and a ban
on cigarette sales to minors.

"The spread of the tobacco epidemic is a global problem with serious
consequences for public health that calls for...an effective,
appropriate and comprehensive international response," the treaty
declared.

Many of the pact's policies are already applied in rich countries, but
for much of the developing world, where deaths from tobacco-related
disease are set to surge, it marks the first attempt to fight what WHO
says is already the biggest cause of premature death.

"The convention we have agreed on is a real milestone in the history of
global public health," said Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, WHO
director-general and former Norwegian premier. "Due to the actions that
will follow....millions and millions of lives will be saved," she said
in a statement.

According to the United Nations health agency, the number of people
dying each year from cancer, cardiovascular disease and other conditions
linked to smoking has jumped to 4.9 million a year from four million
when talks on the treaty were first launched in 1999.

By 2020, the figure could stand at over 10 million, with some 70 percent
of the victims living in developing countries.

PROTECT NON-SMOKERS

Under the treaty, which will come into force once 40 signatory states
have formally ratified it, countries commit themselves to laws to curb
tobacco use and to protect non-smokers from the smoke of others.

Besides an end to advertising, a measure that WHO had said was crucial
to cutting smoking among the young, the treaty also sets out standards
for health warnings on cigarette packets and bars the use of "deceptive"
terms on labels.

But it stopped short of an outright ban on descriptions like "mild" or
"low tar," which WHO says give a misleading idea that these cigarettes
are less damaging to health.

Financial support would be give to poorer countries both in developing
their campaigns against smoking and in finding profitable alternatives
to tobacco production.

But both the United States, which has some of the toughest anti-smoking
laws in the world, and Germany objected to the advertising ban even
though the treaty allowed countries where such a move could pose
problems because of constitutional guarantees about free speech to opt
to "restrict" instead.

The United States, home to some of the world's largest tobacco
companies, said it would take its battle for changes to the text to the
May gathering.

Health activists applauded the pact and played down the importance of
the possible absence of the United States.

"We never expected the United States to ratify the treaty. It is a
recurring pattern," said Kathryn Mulvey, executive director of U.S.
group Infact, referring to Washington's rejection of a number
international pacts in recent years.

"This treaty can be tremendously effective in those parts of the world
which are being the most heavily targeted by the tobacco companies --
the Third World," she said.

But even with the treaty in force, health officials said it will take
time to make a significant impact on the more than one billion smokers
around the world.

----------

Boston Globe US abstains in the war on tobacco

 By Derrick Z. Jackson, 3/5/2003

 THE UNITED NATIONS has voted to go war against the world's worst weapon
of mass destruction. The United States is  against the resolution.

 This news passed by with little notice last week. In Geneva, about 170
nations met in an effort to agree on a global treaty on  tobacco.
Cigarettes, according to the World Health Organization, kill 4 million
people a year and will kill 10 million a year by  2030 if current trends
continue. Unless there is a war on tobacco, cigarettes will cut short
the lives of 500 million of the 6  billion people on earth.

 Most of the nations that gathered in Geneva agreed to a final text that
will be presented to the WHO in May for adoption. The  treaty, called
the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, requires nations to
implement serious tobacco control programs.  It would require cigarette
companies to put a health warning that would take up at least 30 percent
of the surface of a pack. It  would eliminate labeling that misleads
smokers to think that a particular ''light'' or ''mild'' cigarette is
less harmful than others.

 The pact would require signatories to move toward a ban on cigarette
advertising within the limits of a nation's laws. Signatories  would be
required to fund tobacco control programs and consider taxes that reduce
smoking. With most of the world ready to  fight a chemical weapon that
could be lethal for the equivalent of two United States of Americas,
WHO's director general, Gro  Harlem Brundtland, called the treaty a
''real milestone in the history of global public health.''

 The treaty is a real millstone for the United States. The problem is
that the evil dictator killing millions is not Saddam Hussein.  It is an
industry run by madmen holed up in New York skyscrapers and corporate
bunkers in Virginia and North Carolina.  They have paid handsomely to
assure that President Bush will not launch an attack. In the 2002
election cycle, big tobacco gave  $6.4 million of its $8.1 million in
contributions to Republicans. Philip Morris, the world's biggest
cigarette exporter, paid $3.4  million to buy influence, with 80 percent
of its contributions going to Republicans or the Republican Party.

 So the ink had not even dried on the treaty when the US delegates
started making noise that the Bush administration might not  sign it.
The US health attache in Geneva, David Hohman, said the United States
wants the treaty to allow a nation to opt out of  provisions it finds
objectionable. For the Bush administration, that means just about the
whole treaty.

 According to news reports, the administration is not happy with the
idea of federal funding of antitobacco programs, a ban on  free samples,
or putting giant health warning on packs. Hohman said called the
treaty's provisions a ''complication for our  legislative process.''

 A few other nations, among them China, Japan, and Germany, where
cigarette production or advertising are rampant, have  joined the United
States in objecting to parts of the treaty. But Washington has been so
singleminded in its attempt to sabotage  the accord that it was called
''arrogant'' by Thai officials.

 American tobacco control activists have even asked that the United
States withdraw from Geneva rather than be such a drag on  the
negotiations. John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society, said:
''At this critical juncture, the United States  government is working
methodically to weaken virtually every aspect of this treaty. We call on
the US government to observe  the first rule of the Hippocratic Oath: Do
no harm.''

 Last week, referring to Iraq, Bush said: ''The global threat of
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction cannot be confronted  by
one nation alone. . . . A threat to all must be answered by all.
High-minded pronouncements against proliferation mean little  unless the
strongest nations are willing to stand behind them -- and use force if
necessary.''

 For the world's greatest weapon of mass destruction, Bush would leave
the world alone. In a couple of months, the tobacco  treaty will be
presented to the World Health Assembly. If it is adopted, it will go out
for ratification. Only 40 nations need to  ratify it for it to go into
effect in the countries that approve it. If the Bush administration does
not get behind the treaty, it will be  every bit as cynical on
cigarettes as it accuses Saddam Hussein of being with weapons
inspections.

 When he needed the United Nations to put pressure on Iraq, Bush
complained that UN resolutions ''are being unilaterally  subverted by
the Iraqi regime.'' By subverting the global resolution against tobacco,
the United States is telling the UN to get  lost. The United States
wants a UN resolution to go to war against a murderous dictator. When
the UN wants war against the  biggest killer on the planet, the US is
AWOL.

 Derrick Z. Jackson's e-mail address is jackson@globe.com.

 This story ran on page A23 of the Boston Globe on 3/5/2003.

----------

 Real tobacco war gets underway - The Nation (Thailand)

Published on Jun 3, 2003 (sic) [March 3, 2003?]

 The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the final text of
which was agreed to by 171 member countries of the World Health
Organisation (WHO) on March 1, is a ground-breaking treaty that will
greatly mobilise global efforts to control tobacco supply and
consumption. Since 1970, there have been several resolutions by the
World Health Assembly to support tobacco control, but these resolutions
are not legally binding. The FCTC is.

The first-ever global health treaty drafted under the auspices of the
WHO was finalised after final negotiations in Geneva from February 17 to
28. The meeting wrapped up several other rounds of negotiations launched
by the WHO since 1999. Pending adoption at the World Health Assembly in
May, the convention will be opened for signatures and will come into
force after 40 countries have ratified it.

Part of larger international efforts to reduce tobacco-related deaths
around the world, the FCTC sets out new rules that include a total ban
on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship within five years of
ratification, unless constitutional barriers exist.

The convention will impose high taxes on tobacco products, and requiring
tobacco companies to reveal all the ingredients in cigarettes. It also
requires a large warning covering at least 30 per cent of product
packaging. It provides the basic tools for countries to enact
comprehensive anti-tobacco legislation.

It will entreat countries to ban misleading descriptions on cigarette
packs and to provide for tobacco-free air in work and public places.
Anti-smoking advocates, however, say the treaty falls short of
expectations by not banning duty-free sales and vending machines.

Opponents of the final draft of the FCTC, led by the United States,
insist they will not adopt the treaty in its current form. This is
understandable as certain countries try to protect the interests of
their international tobacco industries which will be greatly affected by
the requirement of the FCTC, particularly on the total ban on
advertising which is the lifeline of the industry to target new users
and markets.

Citing the sacred principle of free speech under its constitution, the
US negotiators, for example, said Washington "cannot accept" provisions
related to packaging, advertising and sales that would "violate" its
laws.

By taking this approach, US negotiators were denounced by their own
American health advocates as being the "handmaidens" of the tobacco
industry.

Indeed, during the four years of negotiation, the FCTC has always pitted
developing countries against developed ones. Most developing countries
are strongly in favour of the FCTC, given the fact that they are the
most likely to face the adverse consequences of smoking-related
diseases. The WHO estimated that there will be about 10 million
tobacco-related deaths a year by 2020, and patients in developing
countries are projected to account for 70 per cent of these deaths.

The developing countries=92 commitment to the FCTC also stems from the
fact that they had been under pressure by developed countries to open
their markets to foreign tobacco companies that have seen a decline in
tobacco consumption in their own markets. For instance, during the
1980s, the US threatened trade reprisals against Thailand unless it open
its market to American tobacco companies.

Amid the present environment of international trade, the FCTC would help
to place developing countries facing such bilateral trade pressure in a
better position to stand up against stronger economies and to protect
the health of their people.

Countries that opposed the FCTC might point to constitutional provisions
to support their position, but in the light of some five million people
who die of tobacco-related diseases each year, they would have a
difficult time defending their opposition to the justified principles of
the FCTC.

The convention cannot be stopped and countries that have tried to water
it down still have until May to reconsider their stands and be
recognised instead as placing public health interests over the profits
of the tobacco industry.

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