W.H.O.'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST TOBACCO GIANTS

A global anti-smoking campaign has been launched by the World Health Organisation aimed at exposing big tobacco companies' use of deception and lies in their worldwide advertising.

by Someshwar Singh

November 1999

Geneva: The World Health Organisation (WHO) in early November launched a global campaign to hit cigarette advertising, uncover the 'deception and lies' of tobacco companies and prevent them from making a kill now in developing countries.

Called 'Tobacco Kills, Don't Be Duped', the campaign brings together senior health and media activists from 20 countries to join forces with tobacco industry whistle-blower Dr Jeffrey Wiqand and California's successful anti-smoking programme to expose big tobacco's worldwide campaign of deception and lies.

'I know what the tobacco industry is like from the inside,' said Dr Wiqand at the launch of the WHO campaign. The former Brown and Williamson researcher-turned- whistle-blower's life is portrayed in Insider, a major Hollywood motion picture which has just opened.

'The tobacco industry has always had a wanton disregard for the truth; they've gotten away with it for decades in the United States and are still getting away with it in other countries. The impact of their lies is more death, disease and suffering,' he added.

Tobacco kills 11,000 people a day worldwide. By 2020, it will kill 10 million people a year, 70% of them in the developing world.

'The United States should be trying to help other countries. Unfortunately, US tobacco companies are picking on developing countries to aggressively market their products - products they know will cause death and disease,' said Helen Brown of the American Cancer Society, which supported the campaign launch.

Developing countries are now the target of the tobacco industry's expanding assault on global public health, says WHO.

WHO's multi-pronged global campaign will build on hard evidence of what works in tobacco control. It will identify and disseminate success stories like California, where a combination of community action and aggressive counter-advertising has resulted in life- and money-saving public health policies.

There are 700,000 fewer adult smokers. Lung and bronchus cancer rates have been reduced by more than 14%. For every dollar spent on tobacco control, there is a saving of $3 in the cost of direct medical services for illness caused by smoking in California.

Learning from California's successful counter-advertising campaigns and community-based actions, the campaign will make the case for health, enhance population health literacy, promote healthy choices, and most importantly, influence public policy so that robust tobacco-control measures and strict regulation of the tobacco industry become a global reality.

In early November, delegations from over 100 countries met in Geneva to begin work on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which WHO describes as the world's first public health treaty. Strong global action against tobacco could complement national legislation.

At the same time, globalisation of marketing and trade in tobacco products means that all countries need to take strong action individually and together if their populations are to become tobacco-free in the long run.

In a related development, WHO is leading a UN-wide effort to ascertain the level of tobacco industry influence on global health and development policies. - Third World Network Features

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The above article first appeared in SUNS (South-North Development Monitor), Issue No. 4551 ('Health: WHO's Anti-smoking Campaign Takes on Tobacco Giants').

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