Tosin Orogun posted this article on Africa News. This is his first contribution to this network of African reporters. it is about Margaret Chan's speech for the FCTC's 5th anniversary. She said: "Like my predecessors, I am not on speaking terms with the tobacco industry, but I will say this: we've come a long way, bullies."
Posted on Tuesday 2 March 2010 - 13:53
World Health Organisation chief Margaret Chan on Friday accused "ruthless, devious" tobacco companies of bullying as she steps-up commitments against continued exploitation of developing countries by the tobacco industry.
In a speech marking the fifth anniversary of an international convention on tobacco control, Chan said she would not allow the tobacco industry to take part in talks on expanding the world's first public health treaty. "Like my predecessors, I am not on speaking terms with the tobacco industry, but I will say this: we've come a long way, bullies," she said at WHO headquarters in Geneva.
Also a presentation by Dr. Mary Assunta, former Chair, Framework Convention Alliance, and Senior Policy Advisor, Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance to mark the celebration, took a deep look at the states of tobacco control as a global epidemic. She said that “since FCTC negotiations began a decade ago, many have warned how tobacco use is bad for national economy, that it exacerbates poverty and is a tremendous burden on poor families, diverting money from basic necessities such as food and education into the pockets of the tobacco industry. Despite this, tobacco control has yet to make its way onto the global development agenda and receives no mention in the Millennium Development Goals. While WHO made a valiant effort in a report to link tobacco to the MDGs, it still remains in the periphery. If tobacco control is treated as a global after-thought, development in the world’s poorer countries will be handicapped by rapid rises in tobacco-caused disease for decades to come. This must be addressed urgently”.
She added that “while we easily quote figures on how many millions die per year, tobacco control both nationally and at the Convention Secretariat remain grossly underfunded. In the last few years, while there has been injection of funds into tobacco control in low income countries, it has largely been through philanthropic contributions. Yes, these contributions have indeed made a huge difference in supporting the activities of governments and civil society. However, protection of public health and FCTC implementation should not be dependent on private donors”.
She noted that “inclusion of tobacco control in the development agenda will go some way to solving the underfunding problem, particularly in low-income countries. But governments also need to take a hard look at their tobacco taxation policies. Tobacco tax increases are a crucial public health measure in their own right, because they reduce tobacco use, particularly amongst the young and the poor. They are also an excellent way to raise money for public health, including tobacco control. Significant progress towards implementing tax and price measures through Art. 6 of the FCTC and generating adequate funding will be key measures of success over the next five years”.
She maintained that because the number of deaths caused by tobacco is not decreasing but still increasing and tobacco use remains high in low and middle income countries and it is increasing among women and young people, “the urgency for more concerted effort is now more evident. Our attitude should not be one of doing the bare minimum, but utilise the momentum of the FCTC to escalate tobacco control efforts into the wider forum. The tobacco industry is alive and well, and protection of public health needs to pick up greater speed. FCA challenges Parties to translate good intentions into action, to do more, and to do it faster”.
Further addressing the issue of tobacco prevalence in developing countries, Chan noted that as the battle against opposition continues, especially in developing countries, the treaty backed by 168 countries had allowed the agency and public health authorities to stand up against the "ruthless, devious, rich and powerful" tobacco industry. "Most alarming of all, tobacco use is actually increasing in many developing countries. If Big Tobacco is in retreat in some parts of the world, it is on the march in others," Chan said.
“Developing countries were the "new frontier" for tobacco marketing, but were also the most vulnerable to its ill-effects and chronic disease due to the shortage of health care and poverty. In these countries as elsewhere, girls and women are a market with attractive and lucrative growth potential, and they are likewise being targeted," said Chan.
The global death toll attributed to tobacco could rise to eight million by 2030 at the current rate.
Also, a joint statement by the International Union Against Cancer, Framework Convention Alliance, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, and World Heart Federation, noted that “FCTC Parties must prioritise tobacco control for funding and commit the necessary human and financial resources to tackling the tobacco epidemic in their countries. Donors need to recognise that existing funding mechanisms are not always the most appropriate instruments to deliver effective tobacco control and that much more attention must be paid to funding for non communicable disease prevention programmes”.
The statement further noted that “while more than one hundred Parties have submitted their 2-year implementation reports and the first 5-year implementation reports already due, the COP is giving insufficient consideration to these reports, to examining them in detail and to learning what is really happening on the ground and the lessons that can be drawn from Parties’ experiences”.
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