SUPPORT FOR THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION TOBACCO CONTROL

Transcription

1 SUPPORT FOR THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION TOBACCO CONTROL The Malaysian government, together with other governments from developing and lowincome countries should fully support the FCTC. This is the best opportunity we have ever had internationally to address the tobacco menace in a concerted manner. Tobacco is more than a health issue it is an important developmental issue in our context and its destructive effects pervade many aspects of the individual life, family and the nation. Eighty percent of the 1.1 billion tobacco users in the world today are in developing countries. The truth about tobacco is the countries where consumption is growing the fastest are also among the poorest in the world today. Expectedly it has been predicted that the bulk of the carnage in the 2030s will occur in developing countries because they lack the basic facilities necessary to support and promote good health. The effects and burden of tobacco use will be far more devastating on developing countries. Nearly three-fifths of the population lack access to sanitation, a third have no access to clean water, a quarter do not have adequate housing and a fifth have no access to modern health services of any kind. Come 2030 the devastating effects of tobacco related poverty, addiction, disability and deaths would be fully visited on these nations. With the decrease in consumption in Western Europe and the US, tobacco transnational are turning to the developing countries to increase market share. While per capita consumption of tobacco fell by 10 percent in developed countries between it increased by 64 percent in developing countries in the same period. Per capita consumption has more than doubled in Haiti, Indonesia, Nepal, Senegal and Syria, while it has tripled in Cameroon and China. Asia is currently the fastest growing market in the world at about 8 percent per annum. TOBACCO WORSENS POVERTY There are 1.3 billion people in developing countries living on less than US$1 a day. Smoking makes them even poorer. Often smoking rates are highest among the poorest. The bulk of smokers in Asia are men. Expenditure on tobacco takes away income badly needed for basic needs. In Bangladesh for example average monthly expenditure on tobacco was higher than per capita expenditure on basic needs such as clothing, housing, health and education. A poor man in Malaysia can spend up to 30 percent of his income on tobacco. Should he become incapacitated he loses the ability to bring in the income. And should he die due to tobacco related disease, his family loses their breadwinner altogether. We know that 80 percent of those who start smoking do so before the age of 20. This is consistent across many developing countries. However we must see the problem in a different context when considering children from poor countries who already have a disadvantage start in life and will continue in this disadvantage well into adult life. Many of the children who start smoking or using tobacco in poor countries are already malnourished, underweight or wasting. Malaysia is a small country and even then everyday 50 children start to smoke. For a huge country like China the figures are astronomical. Fifty million children and youth who are alive today in China may eventually be killed by tobacco. Most governments in developing countries on an average spend about 1 percent of national budget on health and about 2 percent on education. This is no match for the nation to counter the carnage of tobacco use on the poor. Industrialised countries spend between 6-15percent of their health care budget on treatment of tobacco-related diseases, which is something developing and low-income countries simply cannot afford. 1

2 ELEMENTS THE FCTC MUST INCLUDE 1. MARKET EXPANSION & ADVERTISING The FCTC should set minimum set standards for all member countries to abide by, close the gap in disparities in restrictions and bring all governments on par in terms of tobacco control. One example in disparity is restrictions on advertising and marketing where currently about 30 industrialised countries in total now have or are bringing in comprehensive tobacco marketing restrictions compared to only 8 developing countries Developing countries offer huge market potentials for Tobacco transnationals. The combined populations of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean are 4.87 billion, which is nearly five times the population of Europe and the US. Over the years we have seen evidence of tobacco transnational companies behaving in a more outrageous and scandalous manner in developing countries to capture untapped market. In Malaysia and other developing countries, tobacco is often the most advertised product. Since smoking among women and girls is still low, they are being aggressively targeted. They use tactics and marketing tools never imagined in their host countries. From young women clad in golden saris in Sri Lanka s discos, to Benson & Hedges Bistro in Malaysia, to posters of the Virgin Mary in the Philippines, they all sell cigarettes. The transnationals exploit the lack of legislation or weak legislation, economic vulnerability, unemployment and poverty in developing countries to push their cigarettes. TOBACCO COMPANIES CIRCUMVENT ADVERTISING BAN IN MALAYSIA Tobacco transnationals operations in Malaysia provide evidence of how they exploit loopholes and circumvent tobacco control laws of the country and nullify tobacco control initiatives of the government. Advertisements for cigarettes are banned in the mass media under the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations. However tobacco transnationals advertise indirectly through brand stretching by associating tobacco brands with travel agencies, record shop, Bistro and shops selling apparels. These front businesses though legal are used to circumvent the ban on cigarette advertising. These businesses carrying the tobacco brand such as Benson & Hedges Bistro, Salem Cool Planet, Peter Stuyvesant Travel and Dunhill store also sponsor music events, sports and movies. The tobacco companies use themes, images and settings appealing to women in their advertising. Themes of romance, fun, relaxation, fashion; images of youthfulness, success, slimness and sexy women; and romantic locations such as hills and old forts. a. Entertainment The tobacco industry sponsors activities appealing to girls such as concerts featuring western boy bands and popular international female recording artistes known for their outrageous performances, or sponsors movies featuring heroes and heroines who smoke such as Julia Roberts. JTI s Salem and BAT s Peter Stuyvesant regularly sponsor pop concerts and music programmes on TV and radio. They also organise other activities around these events such as contests where young people can win prizes such as free tickets to the concerts or albums of the artistes. The point to note about these events is the super stars such as Westlife, Alanis Morisette and Paula Abdul, do not or cannot perform under cigarette brand names in their own countries but do so outside in developing countries. 2

3 b. Adventure While Camel and Marlboro sponsors adventure challenges for men, Benson & Hedges extends its Golden Dreams to women in Malaysia. Young women have participated in this contest which basically invites the young to write in their wildest dreams (or extreme sports) and the winner will see it come true, courtesy of Benson & Hedges. Through this challenge Malaysian women got to ride on big motorbikes, have gone to Italy to see how pasta is made and one has even climbed the Dolomite cliffs. These events are then made into a TV documentary, called Benson & Hedges Golden Dreams which is telecast during prime-time for whole of Malaysia to watch. Of course the program is interrupted regularly for advertisements for Benson & Hedges Bistro, which is actually indirect advertising for the tobacco brand. This program can also be received in South Thailand and Singapore where there is a complete ban on all forms of advertising and sponsorship by tobacco companies. In Malaysia smoking among women is still low at 3.5percent. Hence women and girls are targeted in marketing strategies. As a result smoking among teenage-girls between years is now 17 percent which is five times higher than the rate for adult women. We want to see a ban on all forms of advertising and promotions by tobacco companies as an important clause in the FCTC to keep smoking rates among women and youth low. It is also important for the FCTC to address cross-border advertising and advertising via Internet. 2. SMUGGLING There is evidence from the own internal documents of the tobacco transnationals that they use smuggling as an integral part of their marketing efforts to enter new markets, control prices and influence government policies. Surely these must all be taken into account in the FCTC. A clause on smuggling must be included so that the tobacco companies cannot use smuggling to fight tobacco control measures. In Malaysia every year the tobacco industry releases a report complaining about the rise in smuggling of cigarettes and that this is eating into its profits and how this results in huge losses in revenue for the government. The industry releases this report around this time because the timing is crucial since the government starts making preparations now for the October Annual Budget. This year the proposal for tax increases for tobacco is pending. The government may be seriously considering this especially since tax increase is strongly suggested by WHO and the World Bank as cost-effective tobacco control measures. 2. TAXATION In many developing countries cigarette prices are kept low by the tobacco industry so that they are within the reach of children and the poor. In Malaysia a pack of six sticks is priced for as little US$0.40 cents. Surveys and the experience of countries show that children and the poor are most responsive to price increase. Hence high prices are an effective way to reduce consumption and that is why tobacco companies fight high taxation. In 1999 after a 10 percent price increase in cigarettes resulted in a corresponding 8 percent drop in sales, cigarette companies quickly reduced prices. The current level of taxation in Malaysia is still low and this needs to be increased substantially. The FCTC should include taxation as an important component of the framework. Since many developing countries simply do not have the resources for expensive tobacco control programmes, cost-effective measures are crucial and taxation is definitely 3

4 vital to our economies. Part of the taxation can also be channeled for the development of sports and entertainment. 4. PRODUCT LIABILITY - VIOLATION OF BASIC CONSUMER RIGHTS In developing countries tobacco transnationals have violated basic consumer rights. Consumer right to safety: Tobacco is the only product that kills it users when used exactly as recommended by the manufacturer. Tobacco manufacturers must meet liability for adverse effects, including death. Although this principle has been applied for other consumer products such as tires, cars and milk, however tobacco manufacturers have remained silent about their hazardous products. Worse they have hidden information, which prove the addictive and carcinogenic effect of their product. Consumers right to compensation/redress when injured: To date although tobacco transnationals such as Philip Morris have agreed to settlements in the US, they are silent about it outside of the US though they sell the same cigarettes. While they have admitted in the US that nicotine is addictive and smoking causes lung cancer, as revealed in company internal documents, they have not admitted to this outside the US and here it is business as usual. Consumers right to information: In most developing countries smokers and tobacco users are oblivious to the hazardous nature of tobacco. They are not provided with the basic information and labeling about tobacco such as nicotine is addictive, the presence of carcinogens, and the numerous other poisons. Adequate labeling is an important basic requirement for all consumer products and is covered in labeling laws in most countries, which cigarettes have been able to escape in many countries. It is scandalous and a gross violation of consumer rights that manufacturers of tobacco products refuse to inform consumers of the contents. Even more scandalous that they hide behind the trade secret clause when in reality many of the chemicals released are carcinogens and poisons. For any other consumer product, such non-disclosure of hazards would have amounted to trade malpractice. Rightly any other product with so many carcinogens and other poisons would have been banned. Right to safe environment: Non-smokers who form the majority of the population in any country are exposed to the hazards of environmental cigarette smoke. (ETS) In some countries the number of non-smokers who have died due to smoking related diseases have been documented and taken into account when drawing up legislation to provide smokefree zones. However this is not the case with most developing countries where tobacco companies actually lobby against efforts to declare public areas as smoke-free zones. Tobacco cannot be treated like any other consumer product. Because its sales have been carried in a manner riddled with irresponsibility, deception and lies, it is necessary for the FCTC to address product regulation. We propose the clause to include among others, product disclosure, plain packaging, warnings to be specific, varied, illustrative and occupy at least 50percent of the space and sales by license. This is to prevent double standards in packaging and sales to minors. 4

5 BENEFITS OF THE FCTC The FCTC will strengthen tobacco control measures in developing countries, which are now generally weak. The FCTC will provide the necessary impetus to countries that do not as yet have a policy on tobacco control to have one. In many developing countries tobacco control laws are piecemeal, some are weak and riddled with loopholes which the tobacco industry exploits. In other countries, such laws are non-existent. The FCTC will set minimum standards for countries to follow and bring all countries on par in terms of tobacco control. The FCTC will stop the double standards and halt once and for all the blatantly unscrupulous marketing practices of the tobacco transnationals across the Globe WHAT GOVERNMENTS SHOULD DO FOR THE FCTC The FCTC provides an excellent opportunity for governments to enact the best tobacco control policies and laws for the people. Best practices from around the world are available for governments to use as yardsticks and minimum standards. Governments should think in terms of setting a floor rather than a ceiling for national efforts. Governments should approach the FCTC with the principle of protection and promotion of public health. This should be the sole basis for any and all the provisions in the FCTC. We want to see the FCTC and its related protocols being legally binding on the tobacco companies and being implemented nationally through comprehensive tobacco control legislation and programmes. Non-Governmental Organisations have been in the forefront of tobacco control in Malaysia and many other developing countries. They have vast experience, technical expertise and information, which can be extremely useful for governments. Governments should therefore consult with NGOs for their input on the FCTC. Thank you Consumers Association of Penang Malaysia 5