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COMMENTS ABOUT THE US POSITION ON THE FCTC DURING INB2
U.S. ACCUSED OF DILUTING A GLOBAL PACT TO LIMIT USE OF TOBACCO:
Negotiations for a global pact to curb tobacco use stumbled this week,
with major countries backing away from tougher provisions and health campaigners
charging that the Bush administration was trying to water down the treaty
[New York Times 5/6].
BUSH'S STEALTH TACTICS THREATEN ANTI-SMOKING GAINS:
Despite efforts to mask its steps, the administration is leaving footprints
that mark a sharp retreat from Clinton-era anti-smoking strategies.
Diluting a treaty: After promising last fall to negotiate a strong international
tobacco treaty, the U.S. treaty delegation in Geneva last month retreated
from tough positions on several fronts. For instance, it pulled back from
proposals for an international ban on smoking in bars, restaurants, outside
schools and on public transportation. It also sought to delete provisions
that called for countries signing the treaty to license retailers as a
way to prevent smuggling and sales to teens [USA Today 6/1].
U.S. UNDER FIRE AT TOBACCO TALKS:
Weeklong negotiations on an international tobacco control treaty ended
Friday with the United States under fire from health campaigners who say
the U.S. is trying to knock the teeth out of the agreement [The Associated
Press 5/5].
SMOKE AND MIRRORS:
The Clinton administration, recognizing the lives and economies that could
be wrecked as a result, was working with other nations on a treaty to
control tobacco use and advertising. Now the Bush administration seems
to be backing away from this sensible U.S. commitment. The tobacco giants
must be delighted.
Among much else, the administration is reported to have tried during
recent negotiations on the treaty to delete a provision calling on governments
to tax up the price of tobacco to discourage use, and another urging them
to ban marketing terms like "light" or "mild" that
convey a false impression of reduced risks. The administration likewise
sought to ease provisions calling for the licensing of retailers as a
way of reducing sales to minors, and for bans on smoking in places of
work and public buildings.
The head of the U.S. delegation to the talks was quoted as saying that
the administration "really is committed to making this . . . an effective…agreement,"
but its apparent efforts to weaken the text point in the opposite direction
[Washington Post 5/13].
ANTI TOBACCO ACTIVISTS CONDEMN U.S. OBSTRUCTIONISM:
International anti-tobacco organizations accused the United States
of obstructing the week-long discussions for drafting a convention on
world tobacco control, in contentious sessions that concluded here today
[IPS 5/4].
WHO RISKS MISSING DEADLINE FOR CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL:
Several non-governmental organizations present this week in Geneva accused
countries such as the U.S. and Germany of trying to wreck the agreement
[Bloomberg News 5/4].
TALKS ON TOBACCO TREATY FIND THE U.S. TAKING A MILDER STANCE ON SOME
ISSUES:
The U.S. and some other large countries are trying to weaken provisions
of a global treaty to curb tobacco use, antismoking advocates and diplomats
said [Wall Street Journal 5/7].
AFRICAN STATES CALL FOR A BAN ON TOBACCO ADVERTISING:
The United States drew widespread criticism for refusing to accept controls
[British Medical Journal 5/12].
EFFORTS BY U.S. TO DERAIL RESOLUTION ON INFLUENCE-PEDDLING BEATEN
BACK BY A GROUP OF SMALL NATIONS:
Led by small Pacific Island countries, including Palau, members of the
World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting in Geneva this week overcame resistance
from the US and other countries and passed a resolution challenging tobacco
transnationals' undue influence over governments and the World Health
Organization (WHO)
[PR Newswire 5/22].
GLOBAL EFFORTS ON TOBACCO:
The United States, along with Japan and members of the European Union,
stands accused of being more concerned with the health of corporations
like Philip Morris and British-American Tobacco than with public health
in other countries [Christian Science Monitor 5/21].
NO AGREEMENT ON TOBACCO TREATY:
The US has been accused of trying to weaken the treaty. The US contribution
has bee entirely negative [BBC News 5/4].
LETTER TO THE HONORABLE TOMMY G. THOMPSON:
The AMA strongly supports the FCTC, which is the world's first treaty
on tobacco. To be effective, however, the FCTC must be strong and comprehensive,
and we believe that the Administration's suggested changes would weaken
the treaty and impair its effectiveness [American Medical Association
5/23].
U.S. PROPOSALS UNDERMINE TOBACCO TREATY:
Geneva, Switzerland - We are outraged at the Bush Administration's apparent
reversal of the United States' international tobacco policy during ongoing
negotiations in Geneva on the proposed Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control, the world's first treaty on tobacco. The U.S. this week has repeatedly
made proposals that would weaken critical provisions of the draft convention
and severely undermine its potential to reduce the death and disease caused
by tobacco around the world. If implemented domestically in the United
States, these proposals would give the tobacco industry the weak and ineffective
approach to tobacco regulation that it seeks. These proposals sound more
like those of the tobacco industry than of a world leader in international
health
[Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and American Lung Association 5/4].
THE U.S. CONTRIBUTION HAS BEEN ENTIRELY NEGATIVE: WEAKENING, DELAYING
AND DELETING ANYTHING THAT MIGHT HAVE SUBSTANCE [Clive Bates, Action
on Smoking and Health UK 5/4].
LETTER TO THE HONORABLE TOMMY G. THOMPSON:
We are extremely troubled by the role that the U.S. Delegation played
at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body meeting in May 2001, which was
seen as impeding progress [American Lung Association 6/5].
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