View - The Framework Convention Alliance for Tobacco Control

View - The Framework Convention Alliance for Tobacco Control

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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