PHM-Exch> Tobacco Control Alliance Letter to President Obama

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Ellen Shaffer <ershaffer at gmail.com>

16 February 2012

The Honorable Barack H. Obama


President,

United States of America

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.

Washington, DC 20500 USA

* *

*RE: CARVE OUT TOBACCO FROM THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT*

Dear Mr. President,

We are writing to inform you about our concerns regarding the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) Agreement which is currently being negotiated. We believe
it is not enough to have free and fair trade, *safe trade* should be a
primary consideration and the tobacco business whose product poses a health
risk is certainly not safe.

We are appealing to you to carve out tobacco from the TPP for the following
reasons:

·        Over 40 countries have pictorial health warnings on cigarette
packs, but when these sovereign governments try to protect their public
health by increasing the warning size tobacco companies like Philip Morris
take them to court using bilateral trade agreements. Your administration is
facing a lawsuit by tobacco companies, preventing the FDA from applying
pictorial health warnings. What chance do small governments like Uruguay
have in the face of wealthy and powerful transnational corporations? We in
Southeast Asia have fought hard for our tobacco control measures. We are
very concerned that through the TPP, transnational corporations can undo or
threaten our governments to roll back what we have accomplished. The
tobacco industry is like a chameleon changing its legal identity to suit
itself in fighting tobacco control. For example in suing the Uruguay
government, Philip Morris is a Swiss company. In suing the Australian
government’s plain packaging laws Philip Morris is a Hong Kong company. It
is impossible for a government to protect public health against this
elusiveness on the trade platform like the TPP.

·        In the 1980s the US government through the Trade Representative
Office pried open Asian markets which resulted in increased tobacco use in
Asia. We do not want a repeat performance of the US tobacco business’ might
upon Asia. Eight out of the nine countries negotiating the TPP are Parties
to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Through the FCTC
the Asia Pacific region has made advancement in tobacco control. It seems
logical for the eight countries to exclude tobacco from the TPP. We are
appealing to your administration not to block this move. The next round of
negotiations is taking place in Melbourne Australia 1-9 March 2012. We hope
health is not sidelined at this round by your administration.

Mr. President, you sent a strong message to the world that the US has a
firm stand on tobacco control when you signed the *Family Smoking
Prevention and Tobacco Control *Act in June 2009. We urge you to continue
to reflect that position in the TPP and exclude tobacco in this agreement.

Thank you for your kind consideration.

Sincerely yours,

  Ms. Bungon Ritthiphakdee

Southeast Asia Tobacco Control  Alliance - SEATCA

Director
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