Clear The Air News Tobacco Blog Rotating Header Image

August 2nd, 2015:

Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Must Protect Nations’ Right to Enact Measures to Reduce Tobacco Use

http://www.asiantribune.com/node/87558

By Manjari Peiris

The negotiations of Trans-Pacific Partnerships (TPP) are in the final stages this week in Maui – the tobacco industry and its political allies have stepped up their fight against any safeguard for tobacco control measures by claiming it would harm tobacco farmers.

It is a shame that tobacco companies are hiding behind tobacco growers to disguise their own wrongful and abusive behavior, states Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The proposed TPP provision is focused on preventing tobacco manufacturers’ abuse of the international trade system. It addresses the actions of cigarette manufacturers and not growers, and would not impact trade of tobacco leaf, in any way.

The United States and the 11 other countries involved must ensure that the final agreement protects the right of participating nations to adopt public health measures to reduce tobacco use and prevents tobacco companies from using the TPP to attack such measures.

Since the tobacco industry behave in abusive manner using trade and investment agreements to challenge tobacco control measures around the world, it is absolutely necessary that the TPP include this safeguard.

Tobacco products are the only consumer products that kill when used as intended. Currently tobacco kills about six million people each year in the world. It is projected to kill one billion people in this century, if not governments implement effective tobacco control policies. There is a global compromise that nations must act to reduce tobacco use as demonstrated by an international public health treaty – The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization. Up to now 180 countries and the European Union have ratified this treaty.

The TPP must protect public health measures relating to tobacco from being challenged under the agreement, specifically under a legal mechanism called investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) that allows foreign companies to sue governments in international trade tribunals.

The tobacco industry has filed or threatened to file costly trade lawsuits, with the aim of defeating effective tobacco control measures or intimidating government into inaction. These cases undermine the sovereignty of nations and their right to protect the health of their citizens.

Australia and Uruguay are currently battling such lawsuits, and other countries have faced or been threatened with them. The tobacco industry’s behavior is a real and direct threat to public health around the world, and it must be stopped.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has joined dozens of public health groups in the U.S. and worldwide, as well as many members of Congress, in urging that tobacco control measures be protected under the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The United States and other countries involved must act to protect children and health around the world rather than the interests of the tobacco industry.

– Asian Tribune

Farmers rejoice over bringing down GHW to 50 percent

http://www.brecorder.com/agriculture-a-allied/183/1213450/

On Friday the federal government has agreed with the tobacco industry that the size of pictorial warning on cigarette packets should be increased to 50% from the current 40% and after two years a survey will be conducted to assess if increasing the size of the warning indeed made smokers quit smoking cigarettes, or they have started smoking smuggled cigarettes.

This decision is highly welcomed by the farmers association. “We are grateful to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Health Minister Saira Afzal Tarar and the Members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for withdrawing the 85% GHW SRO which had raised concerns in the farmers community because of its negative impact on the local tobacco industry including 75000 tobacco farmers whose livelihoods were at stake,” said Rustam Khan Swati- President Anjuman Kashtkara and Tobacco Hazara Division.

He specially thanked Ishaq Dar for sharing the concerns of the poor tobacco farmers by timely intervening in the matter and forming an Inter-Ministerial Committee to assess the impact of the 85% GHW on cigarette packs. He further stated, “It is of great satisfaction that policymakers have considered and acknowledged legitimate request of the tobacco farmers to secure their future due to the excessive regulatory order which was bound to hit the local industry while paving way for illicit smuggled cigarettes with no health warnings”.

Swati also thanked Chairman PTB Faridullah Khan for providing support to tobacco farmers in difficult times. He expressed hope that in the future government will consult farmers before issuing any excessive regulatory order aimed at harming thousands of tobacco farmers in that process.-PR

Participation in the Eurasia Tax Forum

Download (PDF, 2.02MB)