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People's Health Movement

URGENT      PRESS RELEASE
        "Tobacco today, Arms Trade tomorrow"
PHM demands WHO target the world's largest killer industry
Geneva, May 20th, 2003:  The People's Health Movement welcomes the impending
adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control by governments from
around the world at the World Health Assembly, 2003.


It further congratulates the World Health Organization for its role in
ensuring the adoption of the FCTC through its long public campaign on the
issue and its steadfast rejection of influence and lobbying against the
Convention by powerful lobbies of the tobacco multinationals. The Tobacco
Free Initiative has shown how sincere political commitment to the cause of
public health can overcome market-driven health hazards.
The PHM however urges the WHO not to succumb to new pressures from corporate
lobbies or even those from certain influential member states and accept any
trade-offs to ensure the adoption of the FCTC.

Further, the PHM cautions the WHO that immediate and vigorous steps need to
be taken to monitor the implementation of the treaty, especially at the
grassroots.  "The PHM, which includes consumer groups and public health
activists pioneering the cause of FCTC, extends its support for monitoring
its implementation worldwide, " said a PHM spokesperson.

The WHO's efforts have set an important precedent for carrying out similar
campaigns by the international body against other corporate lobbies that, in
their reckless pursuit of profits before people, have been responsible for
the avoidable death, injury and ailment of millions of innocent people.

Therefore, as a logical follow up, the PHM urges the WHO to fight for a ban
on advertising, promotion and marketing of all products manufactured by the
global armaments industries as the first step towards ultimately abolishing
the industry itself.  The arms industry has become the world's largest
killer industry and worst enemy of public health.
The armaments industry has been in one way or the other been responsible for
the deaths of 123 million people in over 150 wars that have been fought
since the end of the Second World War. Of these 90% have occurred in
developing countries. In the 1990s 90 % of casualties has been innocent
civilians, mainly women and children. The use of weapons of long-term
destruction such as ammunition using depleted uranium in the ongoing
invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan are examples of the callousness of this
killer industry and the governments captive to the interests of arms
lobbies.
Corporations responsible for or involved in producing weapons, both big and
small, intended to kill, maim and injure people need to be banned from
advertising, promoting or marketing their products. They should be further
prevented from using profits from the arms trade in other sectors of the
economy.


Military expenditure in 2001 was around US $839 billion - a world average of
$137 per capita.  It is estimated that the developing countries need just
about US $ 11 billion to provide clean water and sanitation for their
people, the absence of which kills about 30,000 children alone every day.
The money spent on military expenditure should instead be diverted for
improving public health systems around the world, particularly in developing
countries.
In the light of the WHO's various experiences of coming under undue pressure
from corporate lobbies during its campaign for tobacco control the PHM also
strongly urges the body to reconsider its growing proximity to business
associations and groups as part of so called 'public-private partnership'
initiatives. The PHM believes that the WHO must remain a completely neutral
body representing the interests of the world's people and must not become
captive solely to the interests of the rich and powerful.
The PHM represents a coalition of grassroots public health activist groups,
NGOs and health professionals in almost 100 countries around the world. The
movement was born at the historic People's Health Assembly in Dhaka,
Bangladesh in 2000 with the aim of promoting the cause of Health For All.
"Increased arms procurement and an aggressive and corrupt international arms
trade undermine social, political and economic stability and the allocation
of resources to the social sector," says the People's Charter for Health,
the guiding spirit of the PHM. The People's Charter for Health is the
largest consensus document on health in the world.

Dr. Ravi Narayan    Ms. Garance Upham
Co-ordinator, PHM Secretariat  President, PHM- Geneva International.

For media enquiries, please call: May 15th till May 24th
Geneva: Local mobile: 078- 876 5437 (dial +41 78 876 5437  from abroad)
France : Mobile : +33 660 839 448
For PHM media enquiries (permanent contacts) :
India: Dr. Unnikrishnan PV , +91 (0) 98450 91319     :   unnikru at yahoo.com
London: Andrew Chetley, London : +44 20 7539 1591
chetley.a at healthlink.org.uk
Thailand: Satya Sivaraman (E-mail: satyasagar at yahoo.com )


PHM Secretariat:  CHC, # 367, Jakkasandra 1st Main, 1st Block, Koramangala,
Bangalore - 560 034 India.     Tel.: 91-80-5128 009 / Telefax: 91-80-552 53
72
E-mail: secretariat at phmovement.org Website: http://www.phmovement.org
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Message forwarded by:

Dr. Unnikrishnan PV , India
E-mail: unnikru at vsnl.com; Ph (m): +91 (0) 98450 91319 (from May 14th till
May 28th, contact Geneva: +41 78 876 5437 )