INTERNATIONAL ACTION ON TOBACCO MUST NOT BE OBSTRUCTED, WARN EUROPEAN DOCTORS

Monday 4 November 2002

Doctors’ organisations from across the European Union today warned that obstructive governments are threatening the effectiveness of international action to tackle tobacco-related illness and death. They also called on politicians to disclose any financial links they might have with the tobacco industry.

Reacting to the news that certain key governments – including Germany – had blocked consensus for a ban on tobacco advertising, medical associations from all 15 EU member states who make up the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME), 1 unanimously passed an emergency resolution calling on all governments to support a strong Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.2

Last week in Geneva, organisations representing more than 10 million doctors from around the world launched their manifesto for global tobacco control, in which they pledged support for the World Health Organisation’s international treaty on tobacco control 3. In their manifesto, doctors called for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to completely ban tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion.

During the negotiations, consensus on key measures – including a total ban on tobacco advertising – was largely reached by all but three of the 192 member states of WHO: Japan, USA and Germany.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson of the British Medical Association said:

“Germany’s record at international level is not good – they have repeatedly tried to block effective tobacco control at international level, both within the European Union and beyond. It seems enormously frustrating and unfair that one European country can effectively paralyse progress.”

Dr Jörg-Dietrich Hoppe, President of the German Medical Association said:

“Doctors across Europe see on a daily basis the illness and suffering caused by tobacco. That is why the German Medical Association has recently called on the government to ban tobacco advertising. Doctors’ demands for effective measures to protect our patients cannot be ignored. There can be no excuse for blocking these measures either nationally or internationally.”

European doctors are calling on members of the European Parliament to demonstrate their good faith by supporting an initiative by Catherine Stihler MEP to require national politicians and political parties, MEPs and Commission employees to disclose any financial links with the tobacco industry. The proposal will be tabled this week at a meeting of the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy.4

Sir Alexander Macara, member of the CPME said today: “There are serious concerns about the pernicious ability of the tobacco industry to pollute public policy debates, covertly and clandestinely.”

He added: “Catherine Stihler’s initiative provides a marvellous opportunity for members of the Committee to demonstrate their integrity and dispel any question of undue influence. Europe’s doctors will be gravely disappointed if they fail to support this wonderful initiative.”

1 The annual meeting of the Standing Committee of European Doctors was held in Salzburg Austria, 25 & 26 October 2002.

2 Full text of the resolution: ‘This meeting having been informed today of blocking moves to the WHO’s framework convention on tobacco control in the current negotiations in Geneva reaffirms the CPME’s unequivocal support for the Convention and calls upon all member governments to acknowledge the urgency of a strong Convention to protect the health and lives of our patients.’

3 The Doctors’ Manifesto for Global Tobacco Control was launched on 21 October 2002, during the FCTC negotiations in Geneva. It can be found at www.doctorsmanifesto.org.

4 Recital 18A and amendments 4A and 2A to the Commissions Recommendation on Tobacco Control, tabled by Catherine Stihler, MEP. Meeting 4/5 November in Brussels.

Ends

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