Global trade negotiations in Washington this week will determine how cigarette companies will be able to market their products in developing nations—and potentially, overturn smoking restrictions around the world. As cigarette smoking has fallen in the United States and Europe thanks to public health laws and liability lawsuits, global tobacco
Even well-informed people shake their heads in disbelief when they hear that tobacco killed 100 million persons in the 20th century and is projected to kill a billion in the 21st century. It is only when they are told that these are authentic estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO)
An estimated 1.6 million Americans tried to quit and at least 100,000 likely succeeded as a result of graphic anti-smoking ads, a new study says. Want a smoker to quit? Scare, shock or disgust him. That’s what the U.S. government did with its first federally funded anti-smoking ad campaign and,
The U.S. has a rare opportunity this week to rein in the tobacco industry, and assert its mandate to protect and save lives, while proudly exercising cross-border diplomacy. The U.S. Trade Representative should accept a proposal to carve protections for Big Tobacco out of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a
E-cigarettes have been surging in popularity, and a new government study suggests this effect is trickling down to U.S. teens. Electronic cigarettes’ popularity and safety concerns on the rise New findings from a national survey on youth tobacco use showed that the percentage of middle and high school students using
Should tobacco be like any other product in U.S. trade? The question bedeviled U.S. policymakers for decades, but it has now arisen again, with much controversy, in the context of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the pending trade deal between the United States and eleven other countries. The White House has
Vietnam and other countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations face aggressive interference from Big Tobacco in the passage and implementation of public health policies, critics warn. The US government has sought to include tobacco in a regional free-trade pact, which would enable tobacco companies to use trade rules to
Give thanks to Malaysia for heading off, at least temporarily, an American effort to weaken the ability of countries to impose stiff rules on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products within their own borders. The Malaysian proposal to preserve that ability led to a stalemate at a Trans-Pacific
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — U.S. public health and medical groups applauded Malaysia’s historic proposal to “carve out” tobacco from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade pact now being negotiated by the U.S. and 11 other nations. “We have long urged the U.S. Trade Representative and the
Washington, DC 26 August – Tobacco control advocates from over 20 different countries lauded Malaysia for its announcement to exclude tobacco from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). The TPP is a free trade agreement involving twelve countries of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) bloc: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan,
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei – The Malaysian government is poised to table a proposal here that would completely carve out tobacco control measures from having to comply with any obligations in a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, according to informed sources. The proposal, which would effectively shield TPP governments from any
LAST year I endorsed President Obama for re-election largely because of his commitment to putting science and public health before politics. But now the Obama administration appears to be on the verge of bowing to pressure from a powerful special-interest group, the tobacco industry, in a move that would be
The Obama administration is facing a furore over its latest tobacco proposal in trade talks with 11 Pacific Rim countries, with critics charging it will boost smoking in the region and business groups fighting back. Michael Froman, US trade representative, brought a new offer on tobacco to the 19th round
On the threat from trade agreements to tobacco regulations, few have been able to come as close to the heart of the matter as Mayor Bloomberg. His opinion piece in today’s New York Times in reaction to President Obama’s reversal on tobacco in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement brilliantly summarizes why
The war between the tobacco industry and anti-smoking forces is heating up as cigarette makers intensify efforts to use treaties to block labeling constraints. Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) has pressed the U.S. for language that would make it tougher for countries in a proposed Pacific Rim trade pact to
Pretty soon, if U.S. representatives negotiating a secretive trade deal get their way, tariffs on tobacco in poor Asian countries will sink to zero — and those countries will have a hard time protecting their citizens against a tidal wave of cheaper cigarettes. Over several decades, the U.S. has relentlessly
WASHINGTON, DC 19 August – The Obama Administration has backed down from a proposal revealed 15 months ago to protect health from Big Tobacco under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the pending free trade agreement with 11 other countries. New language concerning tobacco, the exact text of which has not been
At issue is whether participating countries can have strict anti-smoking laws Facing vehement protest from tobacco state lawmakers and business groups, the Obama administration appears to have retreated from efforts to keep cigarette makers from using trade treaties to attack countries that adopt strong anti-smoking rules. At issue is whether
In 2010, 14.3 percent of adults in Singapore were smokers. The goal is to reduce this to under 10 percent by 2020. However, a soon-to-be multilateral free trade agreement (FTA) threatens our local anti-smoking efforts. This is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Moving this month in Brunei into its potentially final
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia will not be bound by any fixed timeline with regards to the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). At a special meeting convened today, the Cabinet made this stand as a number of issues, including that of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or government-linked companies, labour and Intellectual
The Malaysian government is expected to carve out tobacco from the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement in a soon to be convened special Cabinet meeting, according to an official from the Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control (MCTC). MCTC president Dr Molly Cheah said the Ministry of International Trade and
Facing vehement protest from tobacco state lawmakers and business groups, the Obama administration appears to have retreated from efforts to keep cigarette makers from using trade treaties to attack countries that adopt strong anti-smoking rules. At issue is whether a pending free trade deal should include language protecting the authority
U.S. will comply with WTO decision by moving to ban menthol additives GENEVA, SWITZERLAND 24 July – Yesterday the U.S. laid out its plan to come into compliance with a WTO dispute settlement panel finding that the U.S. ban on clove cigarettes violated the trading rights of Indonesia. The
Statement of the United States on Menthol for the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on July 23, 2013 The United States provided a status report in this dispute on July 11, 2013, in accordance with Article 21.6 of the DSU. As the United States has reported to the DSB, U.S. authorities
Lorillard Inc. (LO), Altria Group Inc. (MO) and other tobacco companies may face limits on selling menthol cigarettes in the U.S. after regulators determined the minty flavoring may encourage people to start smoking. The Food and Drug Administration, in a preliminary evaluation today, stopped short of proposing a ban. The
