PHA-Exchange> PRESS RELEASE : Boycott campaign March 24th, 2003:

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From: "UNNIKRISHNAN PV (Dr)" <unnikru at yahoo.com>
People's Health Movement

URGENT                                          PRESS RELEASE
Bangalore (India) ;  24th March 2003:

"While the global campaign picks up momentum,

People's  Health Movement adds more products to their "hit- list".

" BOYCOTT  US  AND  UK  CAMPAIGN"

Drop  their  shops  and  STOP  THE  WAR !

"BOYCOTT  US  AND  UK  CAMPAIGN"- Drop  their  shops  and  STOP  THE  WAR!-
a global campaign initiated by the People's Health Movement (PHM) on March
20th, is picking up momentum in many countries. The campaign was launched as
a tactic to put pressure on the US and UK companies and thus influence their
governments to stop the war on Iraq. Today, the campaigners released a
second list of three dozen products to their "hit-list". (On March 20th,
while launching the campaign here, they released a list of ten products).

Several consumer and social action groups worldwide have endorsed their
unflinching solidarity to this campaign. "Communication from Italy and Egypt
are promising, with a group of doctors joining the campaign", said a PHM
spokesperson. Media reports from Greece also show that people have been
joining the boycott campaign.

On Saturday (22nd March), an Indian newspaper reported that "Coca-Cola and
Pepsi have pulled out their advertisements from all news channels around the
world, including India" in news programmes related to the war on Iraq.  On
23rd March (Sunday) another news paper, quoting news agencies from Bangkok
reported that "Soft drink giant Coca cola has become the first casualty of
sorts in Thailand in a boycott against US products, but it was Thai-owned
bottler which suffered from the sentiment, a report said here (Bangkok) on
Saturday. Coke's southern Thai bottler Haad Thip PLC, which serves 14
provinces and had sales of $ 37.3 million last year, said it had temporarily
shut its plant in Yala province in response to a boycott campaign in
response to the war."

"This shows that the campaign is working and this is people's power. There
is nothing that can stop the will of the ordinary people. We will step up
the heat on every US and UK products. We will not spare any," said a PHM
spokesperson.

PHM today released a second list of US and UK products in the Indian market,
carefully chosen from fast moving consumer goods that the common people will
find easier to boycott. The boycott campaign is expected to target other
products in the coming days.

Second list of products released today:

(This is mainly for the consumers in India.) .  (More products will be added
to this)



First list released on March 20th included:

Coca cola (soft drinks); PepsiCo (soft drinks); Johnson & Johnson (Baby soap
and other products); Colgate (tooth paste and other products); Cadbury's
(chocolate and other products); Eveready (dry cells -'batteries'); Kellogg's
(biscuits, corn flakes and other products); Levi's (jeans); Wrangler
(jeans); Reebok (sports items); General Electric (bulbs and other products);
Benson & Hedges tobacco products (Health groups are always against any
tobacco products); 555- (State Express) tobacco products

 The second list: (released on March 24th)

 Cibaca, Old Spice, Palmolive, Pampers, Gillette, Braun, Oral B, Hugo,
Pringles, Pantene, Head and Shoulders, Camay, Olay, Thums Up, Kinley, Shock,
Mountain dew, Aqua fina, Frito Lays, Lipton, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Ala,
Omo, Axe, Rexona, Impulse, Organic, Sunsilk, Lakme, Clinic, Pespodent, Fair
and Lovely, Surf, Rin, Wheel, Lux, Ponds, Vaseline, Signal, Close-up, Calvin
Klein, Liril, Lifebuoy, Vim, Kwality, Brooke Bond, Max, Whisper, Kissan,
Toys -- Toys 'R Us, Mattel (Barbie dolls), Chevron-Texaco, Exxon-Mobil.



 For the People's Health Movement

 Dr. Ravi Narayan, Co-ordinator, PHM Secretariat