tppa and tobacco products: a threat to public health and the case for excluding tobacco products
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TPPA Stakeholder Forum Chicago September 10, 2011. TPPA and Tobacco Products: A Threat to Public Health and The Case for Excluding Tobacco Products. Susan Liss Executive Director Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Who is CTFK?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Susan LissExecutive Director
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
TPPA and Tobacco Products:
A Threat to Public Health and The Case for Excluding Tobacco
Products
TPPA Stakeholder ForumChicago
September 10, 2011
• Over the last 15 years, CTFK has played a major role in enacting tobacco control measures at the state, federal and international levels.
•In the USA, CTFK coordinated advocacy efforts that resulted in
•Congress granting FDA authority to regulate tobacco products•Largest federal tobacco tax increase in history•Restrictions on distribution of cigarettes through the mail
•Globally, CTFK was heavily involved in negotiations around the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world’s first public health treaty.
•As one of five partners in the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, CTFK has provided technical or financial assistance in 85 low- and middle-income countries.
Who is CTFK?
Reduce Tobacco Use & Its Toll on Health by:
•Preventing youth from starting to smoke, dip, chew
•Helping tobacco users quit
•Protecting everyone from secondhand smoke
•Saving lives and healthcare dollars
CTFK Mission
Trade and Tobacco Control:
Irreconcilable Conflict?
Free Trade Goals
Tobacco Control Goals
•Fewer tobacco consumers•Fewer tobacco products•Higher tobacco prices
•More consumers •More products•Lower prices
Why? Tobacco products are uniquely hazardous and highly addictive consumer products.
Chile
Brunei
USA New Zealand Peru
Australia
Malaysia
Singapore
Tobacco Productsare the only
consumer productsthat kill
when used as directed.
Tobacco is Addictive and Use Starts Mainly Among Children
“The ability to attract new smokers and develop them into a young adult franchise is key to brand development.”1999 Philip Morris report, "Five-Year Trends 1988-1992."
In the 20th Century, tobacco products
killed 100 Millionpeople worldwide.
In 2010, tobacco products
killed nearly 6 Million
people worldwide.
By 2030,80%
of tobacco-caused deaths will be in
developing countries.
In the 21th Century, tobacco products
will kill 1 Billion
people worldwide.
Without action to stop this epidemic,
Tobacco Devastates Economies• High health-care costs • $96b: U.S. annual public and private
health care expenditures caused by smoking
• Tobacco-caused deaths result in lost economic opportunities because half of these deaths occur during prime productive working years. • $97b: U.S. annual productivity loss
caused by smoking .
World Reacts to the Crisis • The world’s first
public health treaty• Only treaty
designed to reduce use of a consumer product
• 184 countries have signed, ratified or acceded
• All TPP trade partners are signatories
Parties Obligations Under the FCTC• Requires effective measures to reduce tobacco
supply and demand including:– Strong health warnings on packs– Elimination of misleading packaging and labeling
that likely creates the false impression about the product’s health effects
– Comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship
– 100% smoke-free indoor public places, indoor workplaces, and public transportation
• Unanimously-adopted guidelines detail how Parties can meet their obligations
World Reacts to the Crisis • Tackling global health
crisis caused by increase of cancer, heart disease, lung disease and diabetes
• Second time in U.N. history that the General Assembly will meet with Heads of State on an emerging health issue
• WHOs Global Status Report on NCDs (Apr. 2011) lists tobacco control policies as 4 of 10 “Best Buys”
U.N. High Level Meeting
on Non-Communicable
Diseases (NCD) New York. Sept. 19-
20
A Sample* of FCTC Protections
by TPP Partners
Countries’ Tobacco Control Efforts are Saving Lives
U.S.A. – Smoking rates in the U.S. have dropped
dramatically over the past several decades, falling from 42.4% in 1965 to 19.3% in 2010.
– Fewer U.S. adults are smoking, and those who do smoke are, on average, smoking less.
– Reductions in smoking have helped reduce the rates of cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses.
– But tobacco still kills more than 400,000 Americans each year.
Countries’ Tobacco Control Efforts are Saving Lives
AustraliaOver two
decades of tobacco
control efforts, including
advertising bans, strong
graphic health warnings, and
smoke-free environments
Countries’ Tobacco Control Efforts are Saving Lives
26.6 25.2 20.0 21.3 19.20
5
10
15
20
25
30
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Year
Percent
Data sources: 1997 = 1996/97 New Zealand Health Survey (NZHS); 2003 = 2002/03 NZHS; 2007 = 2006/07 NZHS; 2008 = 2008 New Zealand Tobacco Use Survey (NZTUS); 2009 = 2009 NZTUSNote: Age standardised to the WHO world population.
Daily smoking among those aged 15–64 years, 1997–2009 (age-standardised
prevalence)New Zealand
As early as 1984, the
Government instituted a
tobacco control
program and has
consistently regulated tobacco
products.
Trade Challenges to Domestic Public Health
Laws1995: RJR threatens Canada under NAFTA
over plain packaging2008: PMI subsidiary v. Turkey over packaging
claiming violation of Paris Convention and TRIPS
2009: PMI v. Ireland in EU over retail display ban2010: PMI v. Uruguay under BIT over packaging 2010: Indonesia v. US under WTO over cloves2010: PMI v. Norway in EU over retail display
ban2011: PMI threatens Australia over plain
packaging
Trade Challenges to Domestic Public Health
Laws1995: RJR threatens Canada under NAFTA
over plain packaging2008: PMI subsidiary v. Turkey over packaging
claiming violation of Paris Convention and TRIPS
2009: PMI v. Ireland in EU over retail display ban2010: PMI v. Uruguay under BIT over packaging 2010: Indonesia v. US under WTO over cloves2010: PMI v. Norway in EU over retail display
ban2011: PMI threatens Australia over plain
packaging
Threats of an International Trade
Dispute Create a Chilling Effect
Causing countries to back away from enacting tobacco control laws.
The TPAA Should be the First Trade Agreement to Recognize that Controlling
the Global Tobacco Epidemic
Requires a Change to Trade Priorities
TPPA Should Reprioritize Public Health
The Easiest Solution
Exclude Tobacco Products from the TPPA and
Acknowledge that Public Health Goals Take
Precedence over Trade Goals
Other Solutions Are Complicated and Less
EffectiveA clear exception for tobacco
productsfrom relevant provisions (TBT, IP, investor-state,
transparency, etc) would be a marked improvement
BUT This approach permits second-guessing
of legitimate, good faith efforts as being more trade restrictive than
necessary and could create new or unintended
complications.
Anything other than
exclusion of tobacco products may continue the chilling effect
of threatened lawsuits, preventing countries from
enacting public health protections
for their citizens.
Exclude Tobacco Products
