Most significantly, tobacco smoking, the leading risk factor for NCDs has been recognized  as the 2^nd leading cause of death globally. The report states that tobacco smoking causes 6.3 million deaths annually.

While people are living longer, the report suggests that populations are not necessarily enjoying more years of health. Disability is taking a greater toll on our lives than they were two decades ago and increasingly people are living with chronic illnesses and multiple comorbidities. Tobacco is a major contributor to this problem.

The public health community has not seen the text of the exception, because only big corporations are allowed to see the draft TPP text. But we’ve had it described to us at length. It was the result of painful negotiations among the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the White House, Health and Human Services, Congress, and Big Tobacco. As far as our experts can tell (not having seen it), it’s not great, but it would at least get the conversation about tobacco going amongst the TPP negotiators. There was a tacit agreement between the U.S. government and health groups that the latter would lay off criticizing (and even extolling the virtues of) the exception or the TPP in general in order to give the administration political cover to actually table the exception. So we waited. And waited. There were some hints that once the election was over, the political balancing would change and it would be tabled. It’s over, and it wasn’t.

Will it be tabled next time? USTR won’t say. When asked for a reason for the delay, they answer “We are still consulting on the text.” Which is a strange answer for two reasons. First, back in May USTR made a point of telling us that it was extremely difficult to agree on the text, and that a lot of political give and take was necessary. It took months. So how are revisions politically feasible? Second, who are they consulting with? They certainly haven’t been asking us for any input.

There are TPP negotiators from other countries who are keen to see the exception, and to see their tobacco regulations protected under the agreement. But in general, the U.S. holds most of the power in trade negotiations – smaller countries are reluctant to rock the boat, and so rather than propose something themselves, they would prefer to wait for the U.S. to start the conversation. We’ve been prepping them for 18 months on the tobacco issue, and they are ready to talk.

A trade expert pointed out recently that the U.S. tobacco proposal (as far as they could tell from not reading it) sounded a lot more like a reservation than an exception. Reservations are taken at the very end of negotiations, when most chapters have been closed. Is the U.S. simply going to protect its own tobacco measures at the last moment, and leave the other countries open to endless lawsuits from the tobacco industry? If so, was this the plan all along, or has the plan changed due to industry pressure? Either way, if the exception is never tabled, public health groups should be outraged at being lied to. And the administration should be ashamed. Their failure to act – and duplicitous treatment of constituents who largely supported it in the last election – will directly lead to millions of additional deaths.

President Obama, please do the right thing. There is no grey area here – the interests of Big Tobacco are directly opposed to the interests of public health. They are not a stakeholder, they are the vector of a disease that will kill one billion people this century.

It has for the first time admitted to having nearly $30 million invested in tobacco companies. The figures were provided in an answer to a budget estimates question asked by the Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

The NSW Treasury Corporation, known as TCorp, has at least $28.7 million invested through two trusts, the NSW Treasurer, Mike Baird, revealed.

For months, the government has refused to answer questions about its tobacco investments, which are managed by independent fund managers.

Mr Baird, and the NSW Minister for Health, Jillian Skinner, both said on Tuesday the government would review its investment in tobacco companies, and give a decision by the end of the year.

The chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health Australia, Anne Jones, said it was hypocritical for the government to allow tobacco investments when they could be easily screened out.

The director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, Mike Daube, said he was appalled government money was invested in tobacco companies, particularly as tobacco control programs had had their funding cut in recent years.

“It is unacceptable. Sixty years after we learnt of the dangers of smoking, one million Australians have died because they smoke, and the state government shouldn’t be profiting from that,” he said. “They should take their investment out of tobacco and put it into tobacco control.”

Dr Kaye said the government could no longer hide behind the excuse of fund managers controlling investments.

He said Mr Baird had only provided him with data for two of 12 trusts.

See this article at its original location>

The treaty entered into force in February 2005. It was signed by 168 of the 192 WHO member states and today there are  more than 170 WHO member states have become Parties to the convention. The United States has not yet become a Party to the treaty.

The FCTC is a legally binding treaty that requires countries bound by the treaty or Parties  to implement evidence-based measures to reduce tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke. When effectively implemented, the FCTC is a powerful tool to reduce the devastating global consequences of tobacco products on health, lives and economies.

The FCTC sets out specific steps for governments addressing tobacco use, including to:

• Enact and undertake comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship;

•  Ban misleading and deceptive terms on cigarette packaging such as “light”, “low-tar” and “mild”;

• Implement rotating health warnings on tobacco packaging that covers at least 30 percent (ideally 50 percent or more) of the display areas – this may include pictures or pictograms;

• Protect people from tobacco smoke exposure on public transport, and indoor work and public places;

• Adopt or maintain taxation policies aimed at reducing tobacco consumption; and

• Combat illicit trade in tobacco products. This requires monitoring, documenting and controlling product movement as well as including origin and destination information on packaging plus enacting legislation with appropriate penalties and remedies.

More about ASHs role with the treaty>

See WHO’s FAQ on the Treaty >

Coming soon…What is COP?

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Click here to visit the FCA site>

______________________________

Dear Senator/Representative [last name]:

I am writing to express my concern upon discovering that your campaign has received funding from the tobacco industry. I urge you to return these monies immediately, and declare a policy of never accepting political contributions from the tobacco industry or its affiliates in the future.

Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the world today, and is the only product on the market that, when used exactly as intended, kills. About half a million Americans die prematurely each year because of tobacco use, including nonsmokers who die from secondhand tobacco smoke.

Even if these contributions do not influence your voting, they should be refused on principle. There is an irreconcilable conflict of interest between the tobacco industry and public health. Accepting contributions from an industry that intentionally addicts and kills millions flies in the face of your obligations to your constituents.

Respectfully,

[name]

[address]*

*It is very important to include your address in order to verify that you are a constituent

The tobacco industry has always been a major player in congressional campaigns, but a new online map (ash.org/map) shows just how pervasive tobacco money is in politics. The map, produced by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), allows you to click on your home district and see how much money your Member of Congress and Senators have accepted.

“Given the destruction that tobacco causes in this country, it is outrageous that so many politicians accept tobacco money,” said Dr. Alfred Munzer, Chairman of the Board of ASH and former President of the American Lung Association. Dr. Munzer, a pulmonologist, has campaigned for decades against tobacco use. “Roughly 80% of my patients suffer from tobacco-related diseases. No politician should share in the ill-gotten profits of the tobacco industry or owe favors to big tobacco.”

In the nearly 50 years since the 1964 Surgeon General’s report linking smoking with cancer and other diseases, the prevalence of smoking in the U.S. has plummeted, but tobacco still claims the lives of roughly 500,000 Americans each year. Smoking rates are still extremely high in some areas, and approximately 3,000 children start smoking every day.

Globally, tobacco is considered an epidemic by the World Health Organization. About 100 million people died from tobacco in the 20^th century, a toll higher than both world wars combined. The WHO estimates that without dramatic action, tobacco will claim one billion lives this century.

“The United States has joined with the rest of the world in calling for serious action about tobacco, and part of that is acknowledging that the tobacco industry is the vector of the disease,” said ASH director Laurent Huber. The U.S. signed on to a UN political declaration last year that recognizes the need to tackle the tobacco epidemic and highlights “the fundamental conflict of interest between the tobacco industry and public health,” the reason why big tobacco should stay away from public policy. Huber added, “The public interest and the interests of the tobacco industry are diametrically opposed. It is simply unethical for politicians to take tobacco money.”

In addition to the massive health costs of tobacco use, there are dire economic implications. Tobacco disease costs taxpayers, including nonsmokers, hundreds of billions of dollars a year. One study estimated the cost to society of each pack of cigarettes at $18. Stronger tobacco control measures would go a long way toward reducing the deficit and saving medicare.

The tobacco industry is bi-partisan when it comes to buying political favors. Dozens of Democrats as well as Republicans gladly accept donations from tobacco corporations, and for decades members of both parties have returned the favor by voting for tobacco interests. After years of effort, Congress finally gave FDA limited authority over tobacco in 2009, but only after Philip Morris, the number one tobacco industry donor, said it was OK. Even now the tobacco industry seeks to undermine the effectiveness of FDA regulation.

# # #

Top Recipients of Tobacco Lobby Money in the Oklahoma House of Representatives*

Top Recipients of Tobacco Lobby Money in the Oklahoma Senate*

* Since January 1, 2006

Health & Economic Impact of Tobacco in Oklahoma*

• Number one cause of preventable disease and premature death, killing an estimated 6,000 Oklahomans each year.
• For every person who dies from tobacco use, another 20 are suffering with at least one serious tobacco-caused disease.
• The vast majority of tobacco users become addicted as young people. If current trends continue, an estimated 87,000 Oklahoma youth alive today will ultimately die early from smoking.
• Most current tobacco users in Oklahoma want to quit and have tried many times.
• Every pack of cigarettes sold costs Oklahoma’s economy an estimated $7.62 in medical expenses and lost productivity caused by premature death and disease.

Federal Racketeering Conviction of Major Tobacco Companies*

• On August 17, 2006, Philip Morris, Altria, R.J. Reynolds, Brown and Williamson, Lorillard, American Tobacco, and British American Tobacco Company were found guilty in U.S. District Court of racketeering and conducting a conspiracy. The decision noted that they have not ceased engaging in unlawful activity and that “their continuing conduct misleads consumers in order to maximize Defendants revenues by recruiting new smokers (the majority of whom are under the age of 18), preventing current smokers from quitting, and thereby sustaining the industry.”
• On May 22, 2009, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a unanimous opinion upholding the District Court judgment.
• On June 28, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals in the case, thereby allowing the federal racketeering conviction to stand.

ABOUT TOBACCOMONEY.COM

The purpose of tobaccomoney.com is to help expose and eliminate the influence of the tobacco industry in the Oklahoma State Legislature through public awareness and by encouraging the refusal of all campaign contributions and gifts from all registered tobacco lobbyists and tobacco company PAC’s. No disrespect towards any individual person is intended. The databases on the website are compiled using information available to the public from the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. For more information, please contact Doug Matheny at contact@tobaccomoney.com or 405-474-8381.

Cigarette costs add up to about $7400 a year for a New Yorker with a two pack-a-day habit. Here are some suggested alternatives for spending that kind of money:

• Lease a 5 series BMW, and have enough left over for gas.
• A sailing vacation in the Galapagos for you and your spouse, every year (or you could go somewhere different each year).
• Start a college fund for your 4 year old. Private university tuition would be completely covered when they turn 18.
• VIP seats for you and a friend at every Super Bowl.

Next time> the retail cost is only the tip of the iceberg for what cigarettes cost us