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Will ENDS justify the means?

Nov 13th, 2016
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The global anti-tobacco conference’s move to allow member nations to prohibit or restrict sale of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems provokes an outcry from harm reduction experts

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/will-ends-justify-the-means/article9339440.ece

The global anti-tobacco conference winded down on Saturday toeing a hard line towards e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. The seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) ended with Southeast Asian countries voting for complete prohibition of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) and Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENNDS) in the region.

The clampdown rationale

The World Health Organisation’s concern stems from the fact that while public health policy has been slow to catch up, ‘vaping’ — a ‘tobacco-free’ version of the cigarette where smokers inhale the vapour through liquid in a vaporiser — has become extremely popular among smokers as a ‘healthier’ option to smoking.

All vaping devices heat a solution called ‘e-liquid’ to create an aerosol; the e-liquid comes in flavours that are dissolved into propylene glycol or/and glycerine. Health organisations maintain that the toxicants generated by e-liquids can vary enormously — even within brands — due to the increased thermal decomposition of e-liquid ingredients with rising applied temperatures in open system devices.

Arguing that new nicotine replacement devices were not a valid substitute for people trying to stop smoking, the FCTC has voted in favour of a regulation that allows member nations to prohibit or restrict sale of ENDS/ENNDS devices. “It now depends on national laws but India is likely to opt for complete prohibition. Other countries might choose to restrict access. India has taken a unified stand against ENDS as there are enough tobacco products in the market already. It will take us years to understand the full effects of ENDS products. There is not enough research and a complete prohibition will help prevent more tobacco-related illnesses,” says a member of the Indian delegation. According to WHO, the global market for ENDS/ENNDS in 2015 was estimated at almost $10 billion.

Sidestepping wider consultations

International harm reduction experts, however, warn that measures to limit access to e-cigarettes will result in nearly a million smokers dying. A recently released documentary film about vaping, ‘A Billion Lives’, has argued that e-cigarettes, whose health risks are far lower, could be useful in saving lives.

Some experts claim the lack of transparent discussions on ENDS could cost lives. “These are closed-door meetings and WHO officials have drafted proposals to ban less harmful alternatives to cigarettes without consultation with many member countries. Instead of an open and transparent discussion exploring the evidence and science of better, safer, non-combustible nicotine delivery products, countries that do not agree with a ban are being excluded from the process and the FCTC is even withholding documents from delegations,” charges Julian Morris, vice-president of The Reason Foundation think tank and harm reduction expert.

Alleging that WHO is giving up its responsibility to save lives by recommending prohibition and restriction on ENDS/ENNDS, Riccardo Polosa, another harm reduction expert, says, “If this is true, it is simply outrageous. If the WHO extinguishes e-cigarettes (ENDS), it will have passed up what is clearly one of the biggest public health innovations of the past quarter century — one that could potentially prevent hundreds of millions of premature deaths. It will also have abrogated its responsibility under its own charter to empower consumers to take control of their own health, something that millions are already doing.”

vidya.krishnan@thehindu.co.in

The government is likely to opt for a complete prohibition of ENDS/ENNDS devices, says a member of the Indian delegation to the WHO FCTC conference

Need laws to fix liability of tobacco industry: WHO convention

Nov 13th, 2016
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The six-day conference was held at Greater Noida near here in which about 1,500 delegates along with other observers participated.

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entertainment/grocery/need-laws-to-fix-liability-of-tobacco-industry-who-convention/55397578

There is an urgent need to promote alternative livelihoods for tobacco farmers and to come up with legislations to fix liability of the tobacco industry for the harms caused by their products, according to a declaration adopted today at WHO’s global tobacco control conference attended by representatives from around 180 countries.

The Delhi Declaration, adopted on the last day of the seventh edition of Conference of Parties (COP) on World Health Organisation FCTC, also asked the member countries to prohibit or regulate electronic nicotine delivery systems such as e-cigarettes.

The six-day conference was held at Greater Noida near here in which about 1,500 delegates along with other observers participated.

All the member countries were asked to consider developing civil liability clauses in their legislations under article 19 of the WHO-FCTC, which calls for civil liability be imposed on tobacco industry for the harms caused by their product on the people.

The delegates expressed concern at the overall health impact and the long term public health risks of electronic nicotine delivery systems and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENDS/ENNDS), with some even expressing concern at the use of health claims as a marketing tool for such products.

Accusing the tobacco industry of trying to mislead by generating a perception that the Convention is against the farmers, a top official of the Convention Secretariat said it was against the tobacco industry and not the agriculturists.

“We have an obligation to protect vulnerable members of the tobacco production chain — the farmers. But we do that not through encouraging more growing, as the tobacco industry does, but through the development of solid, sustainable alternatives that will promote a better future for farmers and their families,” Dr Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, head of the Convention Secretariat of WHO FCTC, said at the closing ceremony.

India to preside next edition of COP7 in Geneva in 2018

Nov 12th, 2016
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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-to-preside-next-edition-of-cop7-in-geneva-in-2018/articleshow/55389010.cms

The eighth edition of the Conference of Parties (COP7) to WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) will be held in Switzerland’s Geneva under the presidency of India.

The global anti-tobacco conference is likely to be held in the later part of 2018.

“India will preside the eighth edition of the Convention of Parties of WHO which will be held in Geneva,” said a senior official from the Health Ministry.

The World Health Organisations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is the world’s biggest convention to frame the anti-tobacco policies.

According to FCTC website, the COP elects at each regular session its President as well as five vice-presidents. These officers, each representing a WHO region, constitute the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties.

According to Rule 21 of the Rules of Procedure of the COP, they shall commence their term of office at the closure of the session and shall serve until the closure of the following regular session of the Conference of the Parties, including for any intervening extraordinary session, the website said.

The Seventh Session of COP7 to WHO FCTC was hosted by India for the first time and culminated today.

About 1,500 delegates participated in the conference from around 180 countries along with other observers in official relations with the WHO FCTC Secretariat in Geneva.

Vaping Clampdown? | Royal College of Physicians, John Britton Talks COP7

Nov 12th, 2016
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https://regulatorwatch.com/brent/vaping-clampdown-royal-college-physicians-john-britton-talks-cop7/

Is the World Health Organization poised to kill millions of people? Just as vapers in several countries began to feel like events may finally be turning in favor of e-cigarettes as a harm reduction tool, the harsh realities of the global public health movement shattered any optimism.

The World Health Organization is just wrapping its Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, known as COP7, in India and according to professor John Britton, Chair of the Tobacco Advisory Group at the Royal College of Physicians in Britain (RCP), the future for vaping looks bleak.

The RCP, Public Health England and the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies have all endorsed e-cigarettes as a vital tool in the battle to end the tobacco epidemic.

Tune in to this special edition of RegWatch and learn why officials from England’s top public health organizations fear that pending WHO regulatory action on e-cigarettes could kill millions of people.

Seventh Session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Nov 12th, 2016
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This document relates to item 5.7 of the provisional agenda

Seventh Session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, 7-12 November 2016, New Delhi

FCA Policy Briefing
Report of the Article 19 Expert Group

Key recommendations

COP7 should request the Convention Secretariat to take the following steps to support Parties with implementation of Article 19:

• Make the toolkit, prepared by the expert group, accessible to Parties, including by positing in on the FCTC website and updating it regularly;
• Develop and maintain a database of experts for technical assistance, as well as a referral system that would lead Parties to individuals with demonstrated experience in tobacco litigation.

To ensure ongoing implementation of Article 19, three additional steps should be taken:

• Future COP sessions should monitor progress on Parties’ implementation, including through reports from those with relevant expertise on Article 19;
• For each COP session the Secretariat should prepare an overview of activities related to Article 19, specifically on implementation assistance, including requests for technical assistance and referrals to other relevant organizations;
• COP9 should include an assessment of the toolkit including how it is being utilised by Parties and promoted by the Secretariat.

Background

Implementation of Article 19 presents Parties with an opportunity to hold the tobacco industry liable for its abuses. Unfortunately, according to the Global Progress Report (document FCTC/COP/7/4) the implementation rate of this article is one of the lowest, 34 percent on average. In order to enhance Parties’ capacity to use litigation to hold the industry to account, COP5 established an expert group whose mandate was extended at COP6.

Expert Group on Article 19

Between COP5 and COP6, the expert group examined best practices in applying civil and criminal liability as part of Parties’ implementation of Article 19. The group identified seven broad areas in which Parties could develop legislation in order to facilitate tobacco-related liability mechanisms. The expert group stressed that individual country approaches should be tailored to the unique country context, as not all of these legislative options are appropriate to all jurisdictions or types of litigation.

Following the extension of its mandate by COP6, the expert group focused its work on supporting Parties in implementing the recommendations outlined above. To this end, the expert group report (document FCTC/COP/7/13) to COP7 presents a civil liability toolkit to assist Parties that includes:

• Scenarios for strengthening implementation of Article 19;
• An index of procedural reforms relevant to all civil claims.

FCA congratulates the expert group on its work and report, including the toolkit. Tobacco industry liability is a promising but underutilised tool in combating the tobacco epidemic. Given the complexities of 180 different legal systems, the expert group has done an admirable job in outlining key steps that Parties can take to advance the feasibility of civil litigation. FCA fully supports the toolkit, and urges Parties to make full use of it.

Toolkit to support implementation of Article 19

As COP considers the expert group report and the next steps in the implementation of Article 19, FCA hopes that it will take into account a number of issues pertinent to both discussions, particularly in updating the toolkit, in furtherance of the goal that it be a living document.

• In several places in the expert group report, the phrase “smoking-related disease” is used in place of “tobacco-related disease”. These terms should be harmonised to be more inclusive of the tobacco disease burden;
• In paragraph 25 of the toolkit, the expert group recommends that Parties consider the provision of specialist procedures and judges. While certainly beneficial in most situations, in jurisdictions where the tobacco industry is politically powerful such special litigation streams may bring a result opposite to the intentions expressed in paragraph 19. FCA recommends appending paragraph 25 with the clause “as appropriate where this would facilitate just, speedy and inexpensive disposition of all cases in pursuit of the intentions of holding the industry legally accountable”;
• The expert group report includes no separate discussion of criminal liability, which is expected given the great diversity of criminal justice systems and the fact that no criminal case has yet been successful. Legal scholarship suggests that criminal liability may hold in some jurisdictions. FCA urges individual Parties to explore the possibility of holding tobacco corporations and their executive officers criminally responsible for their actions, including those that result in tobacco-related diseases, disabilities and premature deaths;
• Regarding paragraph 21 of the toolkit, FCA takes note of the decision in the Philip Morris International v. Uruguay trade arbitration, which was made public after the meeting of the Expert Group in 2016. In the decision, the panel noted that the FCTC is “evidence-based”, and ruled that Uruguay could rely upon it as the scientific basis for tobacco regulations. FCA recommends that paragraph 21 be amended as follows: “Adopt rules of evidence and preclusion that allow claimants to rely on the FCTC and on findings made, or evidence given, in previous tobacco cases including in other jurisdictions.”

Next steps: Implementation of Article 19

Now that the expert group’s mandate has ended, the COP and the Convention Secretariat should act to ensure implementation of Article 19. The toolkit is meant to be a living document. It should be periodically updated and improved as new evidence, data and Parties’ feedback becomes available. It is imperative that this toolkit be easily accessible to Parties.

At its sixth session in Moscow, the COP requested (document FCTC/COP/6(7)) that the Secretariat: a) develop and maintain a database of experts for technical assistance, and b) prepare and maintain a list of resources for Parties. This request should carry forward along with the recommendations in paragraphs 28 & 29 in document FCTC/COP/7/13 requesting the Convention Secretariat to make the toolkit accessible to Parties as a dedicated mechanism of assistance for implementation of Article 19, to update it regularly, and to make it available online. FCA hopes that the Secretariat will develop a referral system that would lead Parties to individuals with demonstrated experience in tobacco litigation.

To ensure ongoing implementation of Article 19, three additional steps should be taken:

• Future COPs should monitor progress on Parties’ implementation, including through reports from those with relevant expertise on Article 19;
• For each COP session the Secretariat should prepare an overview of activities related to Article 19, specifically on implementation assistance, including requests for technical assistance and referrals to other relevant organisations. This overview should be included under an appropriate COP agenda item, such as “implementation assistance” and/or “mechanisms of assistance”;
• COP9 should include an assessment of the toolkit including how it is being utilised by Parties and promoted by the Secretariat.

TOBACCO PRODUCTS IN INDIA – AN OVERVIEW

Nov 12th, 2016
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SMOKING FORMS:

Cigarettes: Cigarette smoking is more common in the urban areas of India and cigar use is seen in the big cities. Cigarette smoking is on the rise and is now also seen among teenage girls and young women.

Bidi (or beedi): Bidis are a popular form of smoking tobacco in India. they are known as the poor man’s cigarette. A bidi is hand-rolled and contains sun-cured, tobacco loosely packed and rolled inside a rectangular piece of dried tendu leaf and tied with a cotton thread.

Traditionally, bidis are non-filtered and non-flavoured, but bidis for export are often made with filters and flavour (fruits and chocolate) to make them attractive for teenagers.

Chellum (or chillom): This involves smoking tobacco in a clay pipe.

Chillum smoking increases chances of oral cancer and lung cancer. A chillum is shared by a group of individuals, so in addition to increasing their risk of cancer, people who share a chillum increase their chances of spreading colds, flu, and other lung illnesses. A chillum is also used for smoking narcotics like opium.

Hookah: A hookah is a device that heats the tobacco and passes it through water before the smoke is inhaled. The use of hookah was once on the decline, but it has increased in recent years. Hookah smoking is thought to be a sign of prestige and is available in highpriced coffee shops, in flavours like apple, strawberry and chocolate.

Hookah smoking is also finding increasing use among college students of both sexes. It is marketed as a “safe” recreational activity but it is not safe

Cheroots: A cheroot is a commercially made roll of heavy-bodied tobacco held together with a binder, fermented and clipped at both ends. In India, Cheroot is manufactured in the state of Tamil Nadu and smoked primarily in Kerala, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh states.

Chutta: Chuttas are coarse tobacco cigars that are smoked in the coastal areas of India. Reverse chutta smoking involves keeping the burning end of the chutta in the mouth and inhaling it. This practice increases the chance of oral cancer.

Hooklis: These are clay pipes with a wooden stem used mostly by men and mainly in rural North and West India, including Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. On an average, about 15 grams of tobacco is smoked daily.

Once the pipe is lit, it is smoked frequently.

SMOKELESS FORMS

Smokeless tobacco is very common in India. Methods of consumption include chewing and applying tobacco preparations to the teeth and gums.

Gutka (or Gutkha): Gutka is a preparation of crushed areca nut, tobacco, catechu, paraffin wax, slaked lime and sweet or savoury flavorings.

All states of India have banned the sale, manufacture, distribution and storage of gutka and all its variants as per the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and
Restrictions on Sales) Regulation Act, 2011.

However, in order to circumvent the ban on the sale of gutkha, manufacturers are selling pan masala (without tobacco) with flavoured chewing tobacco in separate
sachets, so that consumers can buy the pan masala and chewing tobacco separately and mix it themselves.

On 23 September 2016, the Supreme Court cracked down on the sale of gutkha ingredients, clarifying that it has banned the sale of all forms of chewable tobacco and
nicotine.

Pan (or paan) Masala: This is a commercial preparation containing areca nut, slaked lime, catechu and condiments, with or without powdered tobacco. It comes in
attractive sachets and tins, which can be stored and carried conveniently. Paan masala is very popular in urban areas and is fast becoming popular in rural areas. The Indian market for paan masala is now worth several hundred million US dollars.

Paan with tobacco: Paan chewing, or betel quid chewing, is often erroneously referred to as betel nut chewing. Paan consists of four main ingredients: betel leaf (Piper  betle), areca nut (Areca catechu), slaked lime [Ca(OH2)] and catechu (Acacia catechu).

Betel leaves contain volatile oils such as eugenol and terpenes, nitrates and small quantities of sugar, starch, tannin and several other substances.

Condiments and sweetening agents may be added as per regional practices and individual preferences. Sometime after its introduction, tobacco became an important constituent of paan, and most habitual paan chewers include tobacco.

Gul: The common name of this product is gudakhu. It is used in central and eastern parts of India. The ingredients include tobacco powder and molasses, and it is often used for cleaning teeth, mainly by women.

Commercially produced since 1986, gul is sold in toothpaste-like tubes.

Mishri: It is popular in Maharashtra, especially among women. It is applied to the teeth.

Khaini: Khali is popular in Bihar and other western and central states of India and is used both by men and women. Ingredients include tobacco, slaked lime paste and sometimes areca nut. It is usually prepared by the user from basic ingredients at the time of use.

Kimam: This is a paste placed in the mouth and chewed. The ingredients are tobacco, spices (cardamom, saffron and/or aniseed) and additives. It is prepared by processing tobacco leaves by removing their stalks and stems, then boiling and soaking them in water, flavoured with spices and additives.

The resulting pulp is mashed, strained, and dried into a paste.

Snuff: Snuff applied on gums and teeth especially by women in Gujarat.

Remain vigilant against tobacco industry: WHO FCTC convention

Nov 12th, 2016
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The seventh conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) has concluded in New Delhi on Saturday with a call to remain “vigilant” against tobacco industry efforts to undermine the implementation of the UN treaty.

http://bdnews24.com/health/2016/11/12/remain-vigilant-against-tobacco-industry-who-fctc-convention

The WHO FCTC, which came into force in Feb 2005, is a treaty adopted by the 56th World Health Assembly on May 21 in 2003. It was the first WHO treaty adopted under article 19 of the UN agency’s constitution.

Under the treaty, countries around the world made laws and policies to fight against tobacco menace.

Parties at the conference, known as COP7, expressed their concerns by the tobacco industry’s persistent attempts to “infiltrate and manipulate” the workings of the Convention, according to a statement issued after the conference.

Expressing concern that the tobacco industry’s tactics at the international level affects implementation of the Convention at a country level, COP7 urged Parties to intensify “multi-sectoral” actions and cooperation to address strategies of the tobacco industry to undermine or subvert tobacco control.

“The long hours of debate and planning has produced a strong roadmap for global tobacco control for the future. Despite all the hard work by the Parties it is sad to see the interest, yet again, being promoted in the room,” Head of the Convention Secretariat, Dr Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, said.

“It is determined to undermine and distract us from our goal – to fight against the tobacco epidemic that not only damages health and kills people, but also impoverishes those living in low to middle-income countries.”

Several “significant” decisions were adopted in the course of the six-day session when delegates addressed the longest agenda of any COP, indicating the enthusiasm of Parties and the growing role of tobacco control within areas of development and human rights, as well as public health.

The decisions reached Saturday, shaping the future of the Convention, is set against the stark reality that without strong tobacco control measures tobacco will kill about 1 billion people in the 21st Century.

By 2030, over 80 percent of the world’s tobacco-related mortality will be in low-and-middle income countries.

The decision on electronic nicotine delivery systems and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENDS/ENNDS) invites Parties that have not yet banned the import, sale and distribution of ENDS/ENNDS to consider either prohibition or regulating such products.

Some Parties expressed concern at the use of health claims as a marketing tool for ENDS/ENNDS.

The conference also urges Parties to adopt a whole-of-government approach and participation with stakeholders to promote alternatives to tobacco growing.

Parties recognise that scientific evidence has established that tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke causes death, disease and disability.

The Parties have also requested further research on evidence on tobacco use and tobacco control and its consequences among girls and women, as well as boys and men, with special attention to vulnerable groups, in respect to social determinants of health.

The Parties also recognise that tobacco control is related to a number of Sustainable Development Goals and targets including those related to the environment and human rights.

The Parties requested the Convention Secretariat to strengthen the treaty relationship with other international agencies and frameworks, enhancing synergies towards common global health and development goals.

DON’T REWIND INDIA’S “FILM RULE”

Nov 11th, 2016
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Behavioural science teaches us that people sometimes make seemingly irrational decisions, such as consuming tobacco despite knowing its deadly harms, because their decisions are manipulated by peripheral factors. Cues in their environment, like the barrage of tobacco depictions in films as glamorous and desirable, can push people towards a habit despite knowing its harms.

In India, as in other countries, product placement of tobacco in films increased when international and national regulations against the direct advertising of tobacco came into force. The tobacco industry now spends billions of dollars globally to carefully cultivate the image of tobacco use as glamorous, desirable and commonplace, through misleading depictions in film and TV.

Scientific studies have shown that exposure to such positive depictions has increased tobacco consumption, particularly among youth.

The problem is particularly acute in India. A study by the World Health Organization and the Health Ministry found that 76 percent of 1,000 movies made in India in one year depicted tobacco use. In terms of audience, around 15 million people see Bollywood films on a daily basis. In terms of influence, 52.2 percent of Indians who initiated tobacco use in childhood said they were influenced by cinematic depictions of tobacco. Indian students who are highly exposed to tobacco imagery in films have more than twice the risk of being a tobacco user as those with low exposure.

Youth are misled into thinking that tobacco use is normal, acceptable, socially beneficial and more common in society than it actually is.

To help counter this problem, in 2011 India implemented the “Film Rule”, under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act 2003 (COPTA). TV programmes and films that show tobacco use must include messages – as flashing subtitles for the duration of the scene – that warn of tobacco’s harms, with anti-tobacco public service announcements (PSAs) shown before, during and after the broadcast itself. So the Film Rule, which is currently “under review” after lobbying from the film and tobacco industries, is helping to increase awareness and change attitudes regarding the real harms of tobacco use. Alongside graphic warnings, it is a critical tool in delivering information to populations with lower levels of literacy, who may not be reached by traditional health education campaigns.

Another, little-discussed aspect of the Film Rule is that it is giving a voice to a generation of young tobacco victims, empowering them to share their stories – their truth and the truth of many others in India today.

The tobacco industry effectively cocoons current and prospective tobacco users with soothing images of superstars smoking, which produces the deceptive comfort that the tobacco user, like the fictional characters on screen, is protected from the risk of disease and death.

The raw and real PSAs featuring victims of tobacco, currently broadcast under the Film Rule, pierce that bubble. They replace the glossy veneer that the industry seeks to peddle with the harsh reality of disfiguring disease and death, heartbreak among families and real economic loss in communities. And those PSAs, many developed by Vital Strategies, are produced to deliver the strongest possible impact while remaining respectful of the victim.

As we described in a paper published in the British Medical Journal publication, Tobacco Control , the PSAs are carefully developed in close concert with the victims, their families and their attending physicians. Each PSA is then tested among focus groups of tobacco users to ascertain if the message is clear and understood by those whom it seeks to save. Ultimately, we have found that it is critical to the victims themselves, and to tobacco users in the focus groups, that the true voice of the victim be heard, relating the actual pain of their suffering, and speaking their exhortations against others similarly falling prey to tobacco.

We must trust that the review of India’s Film Rule does not remove this vital tool from the armoury of our battle against the tobacco industry. The realities of tobacco must not be censored or sanitized.

We owe it to simply too costly.

India has the highest rate of oral cancers among young adults in the world. In a single year, tobacco-related illnesses cost our economy US$22.4 billion.

Today, tobacco causes 1.3 million deaths every year. Without urgent action, this toll is expected to rise to 8 million annually.

Rather than taking a backward step in revoking aspects of the Film Rule, India should be moving forward. Socially conscious TV and film industry professionals should be asking themselves whether tobacco needs to be in the picture. health professionals and tobacco victims would say it doesn’t.

And as we move towards a tobacco free world, depictions of tobacco use will look increasingly out of touch.

Dr. Nandita Murukutla, Vital Strategies

India, Bangladesh seek alternative crop for tobacco

Nov 11th, 2016
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http://www.smetimes.in/smetimes/news/indian-economy-news/2016/Nov/11/india-bangladesh-alternative-crop-tobacco.html

India and Bangladesh on Thursday called for working towards finding an alternative crop for tobacco and avoiding interference by the tobacco industry in the welfare programmes.

Both countries have put a proposal before all members of the ongoing WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) to engage relevant stakeholders and ministries of their governments in working towards the alternative crop.

Taking into account the Article 17 and Article 18 of the convention, the two South Asian countries have also urged the international community to support mobilisation of resources to promote economically viable alternatives for tobacco growers and workers.

Article 17 of the convention includes the provision of support for economically viable alternative activities and Article 18 protection of the environment and the health of persons.

“We urge all the parties to call for policy coherence in the mandates of the governing bodies of relevant intergovernmental organisations,” said the draft copy — a copy of which is available with IANS.

According to Tobacco Institute of India (TII), tobacco is an extremely important commercial crop for the country as it contributes more than Rs 30,000 crore in tax revenue annually besides earning about Rs 6,000 crore in foreign exchange.

Tobacco farming is a source of livelihood to 4.6 crore Indians. Looking at the disease burden caused by tobacco, the government wants to curb tobacco farming.

However, the tobacco growers in the last couple of months have staged a series of protests, demanding that the government provide alternate crops farming for their survival which could equate the income generated by the tobacco farming.

The world’s biggest anti-tobacco convention WHO FCTC commenced at India Exposition Mart here on November 7. It was inaugurated by Health Minister J.P. Nadda and would conclude on November 12.

India and Bangladesh, through their draft, have also proposed the member nations of the WHO FCTC to coordinate with intergovernmental organisations with relevant expertise such as the Food and Agricultural Organization, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to mobilise required support for interested parties in developing pilot projects.

“We want the member nations to promote international cooperation and the exchange of information among interested parties, including South-South and Triangular cooperation,” the draft report said.

“To continue to document experiences and lessons learnt concerning alternative livelihood, organise and periodically update international database of resources, within the WHO FCTC coordination platform, of best practices, instruments and measures to support the implementation of the policy options and recommendations,” said the draft report.

India and Bangladesh have also sought the WHO FCTC to monitor on parties in terms of implementation of the Article 17 and Article 18, and submit the progress reports during the next convention on the implementation of the present decisions, including the experiences gathered before the sessions.

In another proposal, India, Thailand and Uruguay have sought WHO FCTC members to create a forum for the discussions and explore possible legal options, under the auspices of the Convention of Parties (COP) and Convention Secretariat, to minimise the risk of the tobacco industry making undue use of international trade and investment instruments to target tobacco control measures.

The three countries, through their proposal, have also sought creation of expert groups to develop recommendations on combating the tobacco industry’s legal challenge to the sovereign right of the states to regulate tobacco as a public health measure.

“To develop options to provide special treatment of tobacco in trade and investment agreements, in considerations of its unique nature,” said the draft copy.

The three nations have also sought that every party of the convention should nominate members to the expert group, with a maximum of three per World Health Organization (WHO) region, taking into account relevant technical expertise, in particular in treating tobacco uniquely in trade and investment agreements

COP7: Nigerian delegation accuse colleagues of pushing tobacco industry agenda

Nov 9th, 2016
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http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/214917-cop7-nigerian-delegation-accuse-colleagues-pushing-tobacco-industry-agenda.html

Some members of the Nigerian delegation attending the seventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) have accused their colleagues of promoting tobacco industry interests through misleading interpretation of the treaty guidelines, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

The conference is holding in Delhi, India between November 7 and 12.

The Nigerian delegation includes Christiana Ukoli, the leader and a professor from the Federal Ministry of Health; Ihuoma Ofili of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria; Akinbode Oluwafemi, a civil society activist; Malau Toma of the Ministry of Justice; Ededet Eton, an Assistant Comptroller of Customs, and one Mrs. Abimbola from the Ministry of Justice.

This newspaper learnt that within the Nigerian delegation, while Messrs. Ukoli and Oluwafemi were pro-health, Messrs. Ofili and Abimbola were pro-industry.

Mr. Toma, the Tobacco Desk Officer at the Federal Ministry of Health, was unable to attend the conference due to the inability of the ministry to fund her trip, a Nigerian activist attending the conference who preferred not to be named told PREMIUM TIMES.

On Wednesday, representatives of non-governmental organisations criticised Mrs. Ofili, a Tobacco Control Desk officer at SON, for attempting to sow doubt about the addictiveness of tobacco products—a familiar tobacco industry tactic—despite decades-long consensus on the issue.

“The delegate also recommended watering down protections against industry interference in tobacco control policymaking. The Nigerian Ministry of Health is underrepresented in this year’s Nigerian delegation, heightening suspicions of broader industry interference,” the groups said in a statement.

Another Nigerian activist at the conference said the country’s delegation was singing discordant tunes at the meeting.

“The FCTC recommendations are clear, especially in implementation. Misinterpreting them is the strategy the (tobacco) industry uses to derail implementation,” he added.

The CSOs said some members of the Nigerian delegation advanced arguments criticizing the treaty’s Article 5.3 guidelines limiting parties’ interaction with the tobacco industry, as well as Articles 9 and 10 which recommend measures to reduce the addictiveness of tobacco products.

“It is very disturbing and shocking to civil society and other governments that members of the Nigerian delegation advanced invalid arguments promoted by the tobacco industry, which has a sole aim: raking in profits at the expense of people’s health,” said Philip Jakpor, Nigeria spokesperson of Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT).

Mrs. Ofili could not be reached for comments.

For decades, the tobacco industry has lobbied extensively against tobacco control policies at the national and international levels.

In November 2015, a whistleblower revealed British American Tobacco’s bribery of a Burundi delegate in an attempt to water down, weaken, and block progress on tobacco control at the FCTC. Given Big Tobacco’s well-documented history of influencing FCTC delegates to promote its agenda, participants at these negotiations raised questions about whether Nigeria’s comments were influenced by the industry.

Hellen Neima, a tobacco control advocate from Uganda attending the Conference of the Parties said: “The Nigerian position was the lowest moment of the discussion yesterday. It came in stark contrast to the applause received by other African governments who stood in firm support for protection against tobacco industry intimidation and bullying.”

Members of civil society warned that Nigeria’s comments may threaten advances to public health, including guidelines around the toxicity of tobacco products. Article 9 proposes guidelines for testing and measuring of the contents and emissions of tobacco products, and regulation of the contents and emissions, while Article 10 requires manufacturers and importers of tobacco products to disclose to governmental authorities information about the contents and emissions of tobacco products. They also urged countries to stay united in their prioritization of public health over the industry’s interests.

“The global tobacco treaty makes it explicitly clear that tobacco industry interference poses the single greatest threat to tobacco control. The confusing proposition by Nigeria has the potential of rolling back the united position of the African bloc on the underlying issues,” said John Stewart, deputy campaigns director with Corporate Accountability International.

Despite the Nigerian delegation’s objections, a majority of parties to the global tobacco treaty support a suite of public health provisions, including ones that protect public health policymaking from the tobacco industry’s influence. According to a WHO report released this week, parties to the treaty recognise the industry as the biggest threat to progress.

The global tobacco treaty negotiations are taking place in Greater Noida, India, from November 7-12. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is estimated to save more than 200 million lives when fully implemented.

The global tobacco treaty, known formally as the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) entered into force in 2005.

To date, 179 countries and the European Union have become parties to the treaty. It contains the world’s most effective tobacco control and corporate accountability measures—estimated to save more than 200 million lives by 2050 if fully implemented.

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