http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/letters/2012/11/09/letter-industry-is-complicit
LETTER: Industry is complicit
by , November 09 2012, 06:55 | 0 Comment(s)
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THE tobacco industry organising a conference against tobacco smuggling is akin to Al Capone sponsoring an anti-bootlegging symposium (Customs lets loose copper-sniffing dogs to fight smuggling, November 6).
The industry is part of the problem and not part of the solution. Multinational cigarette company executives have been found guilty of complicity in cigarette smuggling and tax evasion on a huge scale by the courts in Canada, Hong Kong and South Africa.
With perverse timing, the industry conference precedes a World Health Organisation meeting in Korea next week that is likely to adopt a treaty against the illicit trade in tobacco.
The draft treaty provides for international co-operation between parties against smuggling and a clampdown on the illegal activities of the manufacturers.
It proposes securing the supply chain by introducing a global tracking and tracing system, and requires manufacturers to be licensed and to exercise due diligence. So the solution is not to ask the fox to guard the hen house but to defang the fox.
Dr Yussuf Saloojee
National Council Against Smoking