[Intl-tobacco] U.S. Gains in Tobacco Control Are Being Offset Internationally -- Weissman/Assunta in WPost

[robert weissman]

*Washington Post

Smoke Over the Horizon*
U.S. Gains in Tobacco Control Are Being Offset Internationally

By Robert Weissman and Mary Assunta
Sunday, July 23, 2006; B07

U.S. cigarette sales fell more than 4 percent in 2005 and 20 percent in
the past decade -- perhaps the greatest and most unsung public health
achievement in the United States in recent years.

Unfortunately, the U.S. experience is not being replicated globally.
Instead, thanks largely to the efforts of Philip Morris and the other
global tobacco companies, smoking rates -- especially in the developing
world and particularly in Asia -- are on the rise.

The impact is especially severe for women. While smoking rates among men
are high in developing countries, they are typically low among women and
girls. But the tobacco multinationals, with their slick promotions and
association of smoking with perceived Western values of freedom, hipness
and women's empowerment, are expert at appealing to this demographic. An
example of the consequences: In Malaysia, where sophisticated tobacco
marketing was inescapable until a recent ad ban went into effect,
smoking rates among women have doubled over the past decade.

Globally, nearly 5 million people will die this year from
smoking-related disease, according to the World Health Organization.
That staggering total is expected to rise to 10 million over the next
two decades.

There is a glimmer of good news, however. The policy interventions that
have reduced smoking rates in the United States and other industrialized
countries work in developing countries, too. And there is a growing
global public health movement to get these policies enacted around the
world. Thousands of activists, doctors, scientists, lawyers and other
public health workers came together in Washington this month for the
triennial World Conference on Tobacco or Health to celebrate
achievements and share strategies.

The United States has largely stood on the sidelines or even hindered
efforts to get sound anti-smoking rules enacted worldwide. It's time for
that to change.

The United States has a particular obligation to act for public health,
because its companies have been the key purveyors of tobacco-related
disease and because historically the U.S. government has worked on
behalf of Big Tobacco to open up markets in developing countries. In the
1980s the United States forced markets in Korea, Japan, Taiwan and
Thailand to open to American cigarette imports. In the year after
Korea's market opened, smoking rates quintupled among girls. Overall,
the World Bank concludes that market openings raise smoking rates by 10
percent.

The first step for the United States to advance a global public health
agenda on tobacco is to ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control. Adopted in 2003, it is the world's first public health treaty.
It commits members to implement best practices to reduce smoking rates
-- ranging from banning or restricting advertising to requiring large
warnings on cigarette packs to imposing stiff excise taxes. It also
commits countries to work together on issues such as cross-border
advertising and smuggling. The treaty has been ratified by 134 nations,
but the United States is not among them.

Second, the United States should exclude tobacco products from the trade
agreements it negotiates. Lower tariffs on cigarettes make it cheaper to
smoke. And tobacco companies have invoked the non-tariff provisions of
trade agreements to challenge good public health policy. One argument,
for example, is that barring the use of the terms "mild," "light," or
"low" (as in Marlboro Lights) -- which deceptively lead consumers to
believe such products reduce their risk of contracting smoking-related
disease -- violates the companies' trademark protections under
international trade agreements.

Third, the United States should devote a small portion of its
international aid budget to tobacco control. Invested wisely, an annual
allocation of $50 million to global tobacco control could have dramatic
effects. Because reducing smoking-related death and disease depends on
policy changes, more than on any kind of health-care or other service
delivery, investing in tobacco control is very cost-effective.

Finally, the federal government should give close scrutiny to the plans
of Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris, to split Philip Morris
USA and Philip Morris International into separate companies. Would an
independent Philip Morris International, perhaps immune from concerns
about its reputation in the U.S. market or litigation in U.S. courts,
behave even more irresponsibly? Could the government institute measures
to avoid such an outcome?

Much more needs to be done domestically, of course, but America should
be proud of its accomplishments in tobacco control. It should want to be
proud of its international record as well.

/Robert Weissman is director of Essential Action, a Washington-based
corporate accountability group. Mary Assunta, a native of Malaysia, is
chair of the Framework Convention Alliance, an international network
that works for effective implementation of the global anti-tobacco treaty./

=A9 2006 The Washington Post Company