View - The Framework Convention Alliance for Tobacco Control
Transcripción
View - The Framework Convention Alliance for Tobacco Control
ISSU E 1 07 WED N ES DAY, 1 7 N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 0 P U N TA D E L E S T E BULLETIN I N S I D E T H I S I SSU E Turn the tables on industry 1 L’Afrique: l’implication des medias dans la lutte antitabac 2 Tobacco impacts 3 Impuestos al tabaco en Venezuela 4 Smoke-free map 5 Health warning picture trend 5 Taxation & development in SSA 6 Las tabacaleras buscan frenar los avances del CMCT 7 2025: Smoke-free NZ-Aotearoa 8 Total ban for enclosed public spaces 9 E VE N T S 13.30 - 14.45: Resources and assistance to support implementation of the Convention Organised by the Convention Secretariat Room: Montecarlo C SINCE THE OPENING OF THE FIRST WORKING GROUP FOR THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL ON 29 OCTOBER 1999 50,993,149 PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM TOBACCO-RELATED DISEASES (AS OF 09:00 ON 17 NOVEMBER 2010) TURN AN INDUSTRY ATTACK INTO AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH If Parties to the FCTC follow through on their declarations of solidarity with Uruguay in yesterday's plenary discussion, Philip Morris will likely regret having tried to intimidate a small country into diluting its public health measures. By bringing an international investment claim against the government of Uruguay, Philip Morris threatened not just Uruguay, but all FCTC Parties. The fact that it was filed a few months before COP-4, against the host country, presents the Conference of the Parties with a rare opportunity to deal a blow to the attempts of Philip Morris to use international trade and investment laws to intimidate governments. This can be done with a declaration affirming the importance of FCTC implementation and recognising that FCTC measures fall within the regulatory powers of sovereign states. On the floor of the plenary yesterday afternoon there was overwhelming support for the idea that COP-4 will issue a declaration. Parties had many different suggestions on the items that could be included in such a declaration. Our advice is two-fold. First, keep the declaration relatively simple – it does not need to deal with all possible aspects of the relationship between the FCTC and trade and investment rules. Second, Parties have a second opportunity to deal with broader issues when they get to agenda item 6.4 (Cooperation with international organisations and bodies for strengthening implementation of the Convention). On the draft declaration: Uruguay's proposal reaffirms the priority afforded to the protection of public health. As the observer from the World Trade Organization (WTO) emphasised in comments to the plenary, WTO law permits measures that, among other requirements, are necessary to protect human health. Both WTO law and international laws governing foreign investment leave significant policy space for FCTC implementation. Recognising this should be central to a declaration designed to give Parties comfort as they face arguments from the tobacco industry while implementing the FCTC. On broader issues: there are any number of trade and investment issues that Parties could address at COP-4. When Parties discuss co-operation with relevant international organisations, they can decide on a work agenda (through a working group) on FCTC implementation and international trade and investment rules. Such a work agenda could: • address mutual legal co-operation so that Parties are not forced to defend the FCTC alone • examine how to strengthen the legal capacity of Parties to address trade and investment arguments • provide guidance on how to minimise policy conflicts between trade and health (and give health a strong voice in domestic trade policy-making) • examine procedures to improve communication between trade and health policymakers at the international level • identify the relationship between FCTC implementation and international trade and investment laws. Given the breadth of issues that could be addressed under this agenda item, Parties should strive to maintain the political momentum of yesterday and be wary of adding issues to the scope of the declaration if those issues can be addressed elsewhere. 1 ISSU E 1 07 WED N ES DAY, 1 7 N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 0 P U N TA D E L E S T E LE CALT ŒUVRE POUR L'IMPLICATION DES MEDIAS DANS LA LUTTE ANTITABAC EN AFRIQUE SUB-SAHARIENNE »Nos gouvernements et nos parlements ne doivent pas se contenter de ratifier la CCLAT; ils se doivent d'adopter des lois antitabac en ligne avec ce traité. Seules ces lois sont en mesure de protéger nos citoyens des méfaits du tabac». C'est en ces mots que s'exprime Malenge Tukemba, journaliste du service de radiodiffusion congolais (CBS) basé à Kinshasa, après une formation de deux jours consacrée à la défense de la lutte antitabac et destinée aux médias, organisée en République démocratique du Congo à la mi-septembre de cette année. Le Consortium africain de lutte contre le tabac (CALT) est une coalition d'organisations de santé publique africaines et internationales impliquées dans la prévention de l'épidémie de tabagisme en Afrique. Il est l'instigateur d'une série de formations destinées aux journalistes et aux activistes de la lutte antitabac dans divers pays d'Afrique subsaharienne. Ces formations, rendues possibles grâce à l'expertise de l'Initiative régionale pour la lutte contre le tabac en Afrique (ATCRI) et de l'Alliance pour le contrôle du tabac en Afrique (ATCA), visent à identifier et créer une équipe de journalistes spécialistes des questions de la lutte antitabac dans leurs pays respectifs. Ces formations représentent également la parfaite occasion de resserrer les liens entre les défenseurs de la cause antitabac et les médias dans ces pays. Depuis le mois d'août 2010, des formations destinées aux journalistes ont été organisées au Botswana, au Sénégal et en République démocratique du Congo et d'autres réunions d'une journée se sont tenues entre des journalistes et des défenseurs de la cause antitabac au Cameroun et au Bénin. Ces formations sont, qui plus est, organisées en étroite collaboration avec les ministères de la Santé publique des pays concernés. Des employés ministériels, des médecins mais aussi bien d'autres acteurs de la lutte antitabac, tels que des représentants de l'OMS, interviennent souvent au cours de la première moitié de la première journée, consacrée aux statistiques du tabagisme dans le pays et aux stratégies mises en œuvre par le gouvernement pour endiguer les méfaits du tabagisme. Ces formations, qui sont l'occasion pour certains journalistes de se familiariser pour la première fois avec les principales composantes de la Convention-cadre de l'OMS pour la lutte antitabac (CCLAT), mettent toujours l'accent sur les techniques de plaidoyer médiatique, les éléments entourant l'élaboration de rapports sur la santé et, surtout, les stratégies visant à déjouer les pièges de l'industrie du tabac, cet axe étant celui qui intéresse généralement le plus les journalistes et les autres participants. Les participants sont systématiquement invités à former des réseaux de journalistes spécialistes de la cause antitabac, ce qui leur permet d'échanger en synergie leurs travaux et leurs expériences et, ce faisant, d'assurer une très large couverture des questions de lutte antitabac afin d'inciter à l'adoption de politiques et à leur mise en œuvre. Selon Atakouna Essowaza Blaise, responsable des communications d'ATCA, «ces réseaux fourniront une plateforme capable de rallier des journalistes à la cause antitabac dans le pays. Ils sont en outre susceptibles de maintenir en éveil l'intérêt des médias pour les questions de lutte antitabac». Si les réseaux de journalistes peuvent bénéficier de subventions de lancement allouées par le CALT, les journalistes qui agissent individuellement peuvent, quant à eux, soumettre leurs reportages afin d'entrer en lice pour le prix du journalisme d'investigation. Cette récompense vise à stimuler l'offre de reportages très fouillés sur le commerce illicite du tabac et à pointer du doigt l'influence de l'industrie sur la politique ainsi que ses pratiques sournoises en matière de publicité en faveur du tabac. Photo T.A. Ntiabang La prochaine formation se tiendra en Éthiopie au mois de décembre et d'autres devraient suivre en janvier 2011. Tel que le conclut Dr. Ebeh Kodjo Fabrice, Secrétaire exécutif d'ATCA, «par ces formations, nous espérons accroître la qualité et la quantité des reportages sur la lutte antitabac dans l'ensemble de l'Afrique sub-saharienne». Tih Armstrong Ntiabang Coordinateur du plaidoyer médiatique et des communications, CALT 2 ISSU E 1 07 WED N ES DAY, 1 7 N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 0 P U N TA D E L E S T E IMPACTS OF TOBACCO GROWING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: HOW TO RESPOND? Ample evidence points to a long list of negative impacts arising from work in tobacco growing. It ranges from social disruption among vulnerable communities and people (women, children, ethnic minorities, indigenous, immigrants, workers), poverty, low human development and occupational risks, through to environmental damage. The social, economic and environmental degradation affecting tobacco-producing regions in developing countries is due to indebtedness, child labour, deforestation, poisoning from agrochemicals, environmental contamination, and other health risks and dangers related to nicotine exposure. Child workers in tobacco fields face unique health hazards through their exposure to tobacco, nicotine, and pesticides used during cultivation. Children labour to construct nursery beds, apply pesticides and fertilisers to seedlings, transfer seedlings to land plots, weed plots, sucker (remove the tobacco flowers from the tops of plants to ensure growth of large leaves), harvest, string, sort and bale. Such activities harm children's health, their physical development and educational attainment, which by damaging future productive members of society, impacts on the community's economic development. Many of the pesticides used on tobacco leaves are highly toxic and harm tobacco workers. The direct victims of pesticide poisoning are mostly children, pregnant women and elders working in tobacco production. Workers and their families experience prolonged exposure to significant quantities of pesticides, which can either cause or exacerbate a variety of illnesses. Some health risks are associated exclusively with tobacco growing, due to transdermal nicotine absorption from tobacco leaves. Diagnostic criteria for Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS) have not been established, but symptoms include dizziness or headaches, and nausea or vomiting. Other symptoms are abdominal cramps and pain, breathing difficulties and occasionally blood pressure or heart rate fluctuations. Tobacco growing also has impacts on the environment including soil degradation, biodiversity loss and deforestation. This is due to three factors: forest degradation, deforestation due to curing, and deforestation to clear more land for growing. Critical environmental situations related to tobacco growing exist or are emerging in 35 countries, mainly in southern Africa, the Middle East, South, and East Asia, South America, and the Caribbean. Tobacco production is widely arranged through unfair contract arrangements, bonded labour and child labour, all of which push vulnerable populations deeper into economic disenfranchisement. The exercise of power by tobacco agribusiness is similar to despotism. Downgrading the classification of tobacco leaves is a purchasing tactic used by tobacco industries that keeps farmers indebted. Contractual arrangements trap farmers into a vicious cycle of debt, leaving them with few opportunities and little time for healthy practices. The tobacco industry assumes no responsibility for the resulting poverty or child labour. Commonly, the time allocated by men and women to semi-subsistence production is far from equitable in tobacco producing regions. Men's most significant time commitment is to tobacco production, while women in tobacco growing villages spend less time in household production than on market production. This limits peoples' potential for diversifying their livelihoods and helps explain why in the most important tobacco producing regions of Southern Brazil, the Human Development Index is lower than the regional average. As a result, in places where tobacco is the primary crop produced, there are low global indicators for malnutrition, basic sanitation, life expectancy, literacy rates, learning performance and per capita income in municipalities. These indicators demonstrate the incidence of poverty and the extent of privation. The key question is: how should the tobacco control community deal with these problems? Should it even try to deal with them? Are Articles 17 & 18 of the FCTC able to address all human rights violations related to tobacco growing? Do we acknowledge that measures to reduce tobacco consumption would, in the far distant future, also help reduce the damage caused by tobacco growing in developing countries? Are Parties really interested in fighting the social, economic and environmental problems associated with the tobacco supply chain? These are certainly questions that tobacco control and human rights advocates should answer together. Guilherme Eidt Gonçalves de Almeida Advocacy Co-ordinator Alliance for the Control of Tobacco Use (Brazil). For a list of footnotes for this article, please contact the author at [email protected] 3 ISSU E 1 07 WED N ES DAY, 1 7 N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 0 P U N TA D E L E S T E AUMENTO DE IMPUESTOS AL TABACO EN VENEZUELA La Prevalencia del consumo de cigarrillos en Venezuela, conocida por un estudio en hogares realizado en el 2005, reportó un índice del 27,73% (33,77% hombres y 21,76% mujeres). Para esa fecha, el impuesto al cigarrillo correspondía al 50% del precio de venta de la cajetilla, el precio de venta de las cajetillas alcanzaba 1,800 bolívares (0,4 $/USA) y la recaudación nacional por este tipo de impuesto fue de 703 millones de bolívares. Venezuela ratifica el Convenio Marco para el Control del Tabaco (CMCT) en junio del 2006, entrando en vigor desde septiembre de ese año. Luego, por decreto presidencial, con rango, valor y fuerza de Ley nacional, se publica en Gaceta Oficial en octubre del año 2007, el incremento de la alícuota de impuesto al cigarrillo hasta 70% del precio de venta de la cajetilla. del impuesto por este rubro en el año 2008, con un monto de 3 mil millones de bolívares, triplicando el monto de lo recaudado por el impuesto a la venta de licores y aumentando progresivamente los precios de venta de las cajetillas de cigarrillos, alcanzando hoy en Venezuela un promedio de precio de venta de 18.000 bolívares (lo que equivale US$ 4) por cajetillas de 20 cigarrillos, un incremento de 10 veces el precio de venta de la cajetillas, tres años atrás. Aún tenemos pendiente medir el impacto en la reducción en la prevalencia del consumo de cigarrillos entre los venezolanos, la cual estamos seguros que ha disminuido de manera significativa, especialmente entre adolescentes y aquella población de bajos ingresos económicos. debería reinvertir en programas de prevención y control del tabaquismo en nuestro país. Estamos seguros que los países Latinoamericanos verán con mucho interés el impacto económico alcanzado al aplicar medidas como el incremento de la alícuota del impuesto al precio de venta de las cajetillas de cigarrillos, tanto en el aumento de la recaudación de los impuestos como en el incremento de los precios de venta de las cajetillas de los cigarrillos. El impacto provocado por esta medida fue Además parte del dinero recaudado por el el aumento del 137% de la recaudación impuesto a la venta del cigarrillo se Dr. Jose Felix Ruiz Fundacion Venezonana del Corazon Fuente: Servicio Nacional Integrado de Administración Aduanera y Tributaria. SENIAT. Venezuela 4 ISSU E 1 07 WED N ES DAY, 1 7 N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 0 P U N TA D E L E S T E MORE COUNTRIES LARGER PICTURE HEALTH WARNINGS ON THE SMOKE-FREE MAP A GLOBAL TREND Low- and middle-income countries suffer most from the tobacco epidemic. A growing number of them are proving that not only can smoke-free laws work anywhere in the world, enforcing them is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce the enormous and growing burden of non-communicable disease. Today, more than 60 countries, from all continents, have adopted strong national or local smoke-free laws. In the past two years, the number of countries implementing comprehensive smoke-free laws has more than doubled. Latin America remains at the forefront of global progress. Recent additions include Article 8 guidelines – Colombia, Guatemala, principles for effective Paraguay, and Peru, with smoke-free laws Honduras to implement its law in early 2011. In 2010, 1. Eliminate tobacco smoke Syria became the first to create 100% smoke-free Arab state to ban smoking, places including water pipes, in all 2. Protect everyone – don't indoor public places and allow exemptions workplaces. In the 3. Use legislation, not Caribbean, Trinidad and voluntary measures Tobago and Barbados 4. Provide resources for both became smoke-free implementing and in 2010. Greece is the enforcing the law latest addition in Europe, 5. Include civil society as an after Turkey became fully active partner smoke-free in 2009. The 6. Monitor and evaluate Pacific nations of Solomon smoke-free laws Islands, Tuvalu and 7. Be prepared to amend the Vanuatu have also law if needed become smoke-free. There has also been a rapid rise in the number of countries with strong national smoke-free laws, with limited exemptions such as allowing designated smoking rooms or cigar lounges. As more and more countries take action, the momentum for progress in smoke-free policy continues to grow. Experiences of countries, cities, states and other localities show that: smoke-free laws protect health; they are supported by the public; with adequate planning and resources, enforcement is straightforward; and profits and jobs in the hospitality sector remain safe. Global Smokefree Partnership congratulates countries and subnational jurisdictions that have adopted and enforced strong and effective smoke-free laws, or are planning to in the near future. GSP has compiled its second edition of The Article 8 Status Report for presentation at COP-4. Working with FCA Regional Co-ordinators, GSP monitors the status of smoke-free laws globally. These are regularly updated via the smoke-free map at: www.globalsmokefreepartnership.org. Antonella Cardone Global Smokefree Partnership An up-to-date international report on cigarette package health warnings was released at COP-4. This new report – Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report, available in English, Spanish and French – provides an international overview ranking 175 countries/jurisdictions based on warning size, and lists those that have finalised requirements for picture warnings. Regional breakdowns are also included. Under Article 11 of the FCTC, package warnings “should be 50 per cent or more of the principal display areas but shall be no less than 30 per cent of the display areas”, which for most cigarette packs applies to the front and back. Pictures may be used. Parties have three years to implement this obligation. Well-designed package warnings are a highly costeffective means to increase awareness of the health effects and to reduce tobacco use. A picture says a thousand words. Pictures can convey a message with far more emotional impact than can a text-only message. The Turkish packaging effectiveness of warnings increases with size. A larger size allows for bigger and better pictures, additional information and/or a larger text. Fully 39 countries/jurisdictions have required picture warnings and many more countries are in the process of doing so. By size, Uruguay now has the largest warnings in the world, covering 80 per cent of the front and back of packages. Honduras has also adopted a law to require 80 per cent warnings, but the picture-based messages have not yet been finalised. There are now 32 countries/jurisdictions that require warnings to cover at least 50 per cent (on average) of the package front and back, and at least 95 require a minimum size (on average) of at least 30 per cent. Since the last Conference of the Parties, much progress has been made globally. This momentum will assist countries to implement improved measures. The new report was prepared by the Canadian Cancer Society in collaboration with the Framework Convention Alliance. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids provided financial support for the Spanish and French translations. Joelle Walker Catherine Laska Rob Cunningham Canadian Cancer Society 5 ISSU E 1 07 WED N ES DAY, 1 7 N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 0 P U N TA D E L E S T E TOBACCO TAXATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN SUB - SAHARAN AFRICA Three years before the deadline to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), three of which are directly related to health objectives,1 tackling health problems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has become more difficult because of limited resources to address both contagious and non-contagious diseases. However, tobacco taxation has been identified as one of the most efficient ways to reduce tobacco use and improve a population's health. Taxes on tobacco products are still much lower in Africa than in Europe. According to the WHO's MPOWER report from 2008, only five out of 53 European countries have a tobacco product taxation rate lower than 40 per cent, compared to 30 out of 46 African nations. As a consequence, smoking prevalence is rising faster in Africa than in any other region, at a rate of 4.3 per cent per year. The adoption and implementation of strong taxation policies, as required by Article 6 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), is a way for African nations to reduce tobacco prevalence and help promote sustainable development. TOBACCO TAXATION, PUBLIC FINANCE Many African countries suffer from a chronic public finance deficit. In striving to attain the MDGs, emphasis must be put on policies that benefit the poor, by increasing health and education provision. Revenues from tobacco excise taxes are especially significant in low-income countries, whose income 2 tax systems tend not to be well-developed. Higher levels of tobacco taxation appear to be a solution for Africa, if implemented steadily and effectively. In SSA, South Africa has for over a decade successfully implemented a policy of increasing tobacco taxation, despite the presence of the tobacco industry. The real excise tax per pack of cigarettes increased by 256 per cent between 1994 and 2004, and the real price of cigarettes increased by 127 per cent over the same period. Despite the sharp fall in cigarette consumption, real government revenue from tobacco excise taxes increased 3 by more than 140 per cent between 1994 and 2004. TOBACCO TAXATION AND POVERTY In Africa, as well as in middle - and less - developed countries, the majority of smokers are the poor and young.4 Studies have shown that tobacco tax increases are more regressive for these groups than for the rich. Since poor people are exposed to malnutrition and difficulties in supporting their children's studies, large increases in tobacco excise taxes will increase prices and deter the poor from tobacco use, thus saving their revenues for food, health care and education. In Ghana, the cost of a packet of Marlboro cigarettes, or an equivalent brand, will buy a kilogram of fish.5 Moreover, given the reduction in risk and consequent health gains that will result from lower use of tobacco, tobacco tax increases may be highly beneficial for poor smokers. In tobacco growing countries that host the tobacco industry, growers are directly dependent on industry demand. If tobacco farmers' production is not sold on time, starvation and misery is their reward, whereas cereals producers still have the possibility of selling and consuming a fraction of their production. High taxes on tobacco products and supportive action aimed at food security will re-orientate farmers towards cereals production, which is in deficit on the continent, and particularly in major tobacco growing countries like Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe. INCREASE TOBACCO TAXATION AND DEVELOP FOOD AGRICULTURE A focus on food security policies rather than tobacco industry profits is more likely to improve the wealth of urban and rural populations. Zimbabwe and Kenya are the biggest tobacco growers in Africa. Meanwhile, the cereals deficit in Zimbabwe in 2009 was around 700,000 tons.6 In the same year, Kenya's maize deficit of 10 million tons7 obliged the goverment to cancel the import tax on maize. In such situations, what is the usefulness of protecting tobacco growing? This cereals' deficit invites African decision-makers to stress production of food over tobacco. Re-orientating agricultural production toward cereals and modernising channels of distribution across the African continent is more likely to increase the revenues of peasants, prevent food-related social crises, and guarantee stability, which is the basic condition for any sustainable development. By implementing very high taxes on tobacco products, and stressing food security, African governments can build strong foundations for better public finance, trade assets, sustainable stability and development. Nouréiny TCHA-KONDOR Economist, Tax Campaign Coordinator, Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) [email protected] 1 Reducing child mortality, improving woman's health and combating HIV/AIDS 2 The economics of tobacco use and tobacco control in the developing world, Background paper and high-level round table organised by the European Commission in collaboration with WHO and the World Bank, Brussels, February 2003 3 Walbeek, C van, Tobacco excise taxation in South Africa, University of Cape Town. South Africa 4 Chaloukpa et al, The economics of tobacco control, Briefing notes in Economics, 63, Illinois, January 2005 5 Mackay, J, Eriksen, M, The Tobacco Atlas, World Health Organization, 2002, pg 43. 6 www.afriquejet.com 08/01/2009 7 ibid. 6 ISSU E 1 07 WED N ES DAY, 1 7 N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 0 P U N TA D E L E S T E LA INDUSTRIA TABACALERA BUSCA FRENAR LOS AVANCES DEL CMCT EN AMÉRICA LATINA La Fundación Interamericana del Corazón (FIC) presentó un informe que analiza los avances y los desafíos en la implementación del CMCT en América Latina y el Caribe, brindando información crucial para elaborar estrategias que permitan salvar la vida de miles de personas en toda la región. Según el documento, la puesta en funcionamiento del CMCT en estos países ha enfrentado problemas comunes y al mismo tiempo ha encontrado soluciones exitosas frente a las trabas impuestas por algunos sectores a las políticas de salud en la región. De 33 países que integran la región, 26 ya han ratificado el CMCT. Es necesario multiplicar esfuerzos para que la República Argentina, Cuba, El Salvador, Haití, St. Kitts and Nevis y St. Vincent and Grenadines y la República Dominicana ratifiquen de manera urgente el CMCT para fortalecer la cooperación regional. Los avances más significativos se han verificado en la implementación del artículo 11, el que se refiere a colocar las advertencias sanitarias con pictogramas en las cajetillas, adoptado por doce países. Muy cerca se encuentra la aplicación del artículo 8, con once países que han sancionado leyes o decretos de ambientes 100% libres de humo de tabaco a nivel nacional. Por otra parte, hubo numerosos países que no han implementado ninguna medida del CMCT o sancionaron leyes que no respetan los estándares mínimos, resultando estas leyes funcionales a las tabacaleras. Otro problema central son las medidas relacionadas con los precios y los impuestos establecidos en el artículo 6 y en las acciones desarrolladas para eliminar el contrabando. El reciente logro de un aumento a los impuestos al tabaco en México da esperanzas de mejoras en la implementación de ese artículo. De todos modos, el principal obstáculo para la implementación de las políticas del CMCT continúa siendo la interferencia de la industria tabacalera. Los países que han registrado mayores avances en la implementación del CMCT se enfrentan hoy a la contraofensiva de la industria y de otros grupos económicos que operan a través de litigios de inconstitucionalidad, amparos y demandas que buscan frenar el avance de las políticas de control de tabaco, tales son los casos de Uruguay, Colombia, Brasil, Guatemala, Paraguay, entre otros. El reciente fallo de la Corte Suprema de Paraguay a favor de la industria tabacalera muestra la necesidad de cooperar internacionalmente para eliminar la interferencia de la industria. El desafío en el corto y mediano plazo es que los Estados asuman que las políticas de control de tabaco son políticas sanitarias urgentes, que con intervenciones de sencilla implementación y bajo costo pueden salvar miles de vidas. PRINCIPALES AVANCES DE LATINOAMÉRICA Y EL CARIBE: Doce países han adoptado las advertencias sanitarias con pictogramas: Brasil (2001), Venezuela (2004), Uruguay (2005), Chile (2006), México (2008), Panamá (2008), Perú (2008), Colombia (2009), Bolivia (2009), Honduras (2010), Paraguay (2010) y Nicaragua (2010). Nueve países han sancionado leyes o decretos de ambientes 100% libres de humo de tabaco a nivel nacional: Uruguay (2006), Panamá (2008), Guatemala (2009), Colombia (2009), Perú (2010), Trinidad y Tobago (2010), Honduras (2010), Paraguay (2010) y Barbados (2010) y tres lo han hecho a nivel subnacional: México, Brasil y Venezuela. Ocho países han implementado el Artículo 13 que establece la prohibición completa de publicidad, promoción y patrocinio de productos de tabaco. Dos de ellos en forma completa; Panamá y Colombia. Otros seis países sancionaron leyes que sólo exceptúan puntos de venta o Internet: Brasil (2003), Venezuela (2005), Chile (2007), Uruguay (2008), Trinidad y Tobago (2009) y Honduras (2010). Cuatro países han implementado el artículo 6 a través de políticas efectivas en el aumento significativo de los impuestos y el precio del tabaco: México, Panamá, Uruguay y Ecuador entre los más significativos. Laura Itchart FIC Argentina Bajar el reporte completo Español http://www.ficargentina.org/images/stories/Documentos/reporte _cmct_espanol.pdf Ingles http://www.ficargentina.org/images/stories/Documentos/reporte _cmct_ingles_1.pdf CORRECTION A clerical error led to incorrect numbering of Monday's and yesterday's editions of the Bulletin. This has been rectified, resulting in today's edition being number 107. We apologise to devoted readers for any distress this may have caused. 7