By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA, Mar 25 2002 (IPS)

The governments negotiating the text of an international agreement for controlling tobacco consumption expressed satisfaction with the results of the latest discussions, but pro-health and pro-consumer non-governmental organisations (NGOs) went home disappointed.

The chairman of the fourth round of talks, Luiz Felipe Seixas Correa, of Brazil, reported that progress had been made in drafting the text of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in the sessions held in this Swiss city Mar 18-23.

“We are heading in the right direction,” said the Brazilian diplomat.

The European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, David Byrne, agreed that the sessions produced positive results.

Byrne applauded the contribution the 15-member EU made to the talks, which, he said, would make the Convention “a real tool in our fight against tobacco consumption.”

In contrast, Kathryn Mulvey, of Infact, a U.S.-based non- governmental organisation that monitors corporations, said activists are disappointed by “the lack of progress” in determining the content of the text.

Mulvey accused the big tobacco transnationals of attempting “to undermine the negotiating process.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is promoting the implementation, in May 2003, of the international treaty to fight consumption of tobacco, which contributes to more than four million deaths each year.

The fifth and final round of talks is slated for Oct 25, but the 191 WHO member states have until May 15 to add new proposals to the text being discussed. The FCTC has been under negotiation in Geneva since October 2000.

Seixas Correa promised to present a draft of the Convention on Jul 16 that will reflect a balance between the different positions, and allow the parties to study it prior to the October sessions.

He said more consultations would be carried out during the sessions of the World Health Assembly, an annual meeting of health ministers, to take place in May.

The NGOs, said Mulvey, “are looking for swift progress” and trust that the leadership of the negotiations will obtain the desired results at the October sessions.

The difficulties in achieving agreement on the FCTC are largely related to publicity issues.

The Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), which unites more than 160 NGOs from around the world, is promoting a text that prohibits all direct and indirect forms of publicity, promotion and sponsorship by tobacco companies.

In countries where there are constitutional restrictions on adopting such criteria, the FCA proposes limiting tobacco advertising to the extent legally possible.

The EU’s Byrne noted after the sessions last week that there exist “real prospects for a total ban on all forms of direct and indirect advertising” for cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Seixas acknowledged in a press conference that the case of tobacco transnationals promoting their products as clothing brands entails legal questions that extend into the trade realm.

The FCA defends the principle of “health before trade” and demands that greater priority be given human life – above commercial interests.

The Convention proposed by the WHO should be the main treaty governing tobacco and should not be subject to complaints based on agreements under the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Infact’s Mulvey told the press in Geneva last week.

Another question that underscores sharp differences between the parties to the Convention is financing for crop substitution in areas that have been dedicated to growing tobacco.

Several developing countries that rely on tobacco as a main source of export revenues are demanding financial assistance in order to shift to other lucrative crops.

The alliance of NGOs states that there is no justification for subsidising any phase of the tobacco production process.

However, the group recognises that it may be necessary, for social reasons, to help communities that are dependent on the tobacco economy to diversify and to develop infrastructure and activities for the public good.

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