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Community Leaders, Students, Activists From Coast to Coast Urge US Government to Stop Blocking Progress on World's First Public Health Treaty Weeks Before Final Round of Talks on Global Tobacco Treaty, Hundreds Join National Call-in Day to Top US Official FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BOSTON -- With negotiations on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) coming down to the wire, activists from Atlanta to Seattle are taking their concerns to the top. Public health advocates, students and community leaders are joining with the corporate accountability organization Infact in calling on Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson to help stop the US from blocking progress on the groundbreaking public health treaty. The activists are participating in a national call-in day that will generate hundreds of phone calls to Thompson, demonstrating the growing public concern over the obstructionist role of the US in the treaty talks. "Throughout the negotiations, the US has been blocking progress on the world's first public health treaty. In the face of a global epidemic that claims nearly five million lives every year, we are calling on Secretary Thompson to prioritize health over the profits of Philip Morris and the rest of the tobacco industry," says Infact Executive Director Kathryn Mulvey. More than 150 countries have come together to negotiate the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which could include a total ban on tobacco advertising. Despite the tremendous economic and political clout of Philip Morris and other tobacco corporations, the great majority of countries are pushing for a strong treaty that prioritizes health over tobacco profits. The FCTC is scheduled to be adopted by the World Health Assembly in May, and the US is one of a few wealthy countries trying to stall the treaty's progress. The final round of FCTC negotiations will take place in February in Geneva. The US is under increasing pressure to stop putting the profits of Philip Morris ahead of public health worldwide. "From coast to coast, people are taking action. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is one of the most important public health and corporate accountability initiatives of our time. We simply cannot let a US government beholden to Big Tobacco destroy this treaty," says Mulvey. In pressuring the US around its role in the FCTC talks, activists are calling attention to the close ties that the Bush administration has with Philip Morris, the world"s largest and most profitable tobacco corporation. Karl Rove, a senior advisor to the President and one of the most powerful voices on the Bush team, was a lobbyist and consultant for Philip Morris before serving in the Bush Administration. Tommy Thompson, who plays an important role in the FCTC negotiations and is the recipient of today's phone calls, maintained an open-door policy with Philip Morris as Governor of Wisconsin, receiving $70,000 in campaign contributions from the tobacco giant. ### Since 1977, Infact has been exposing life-threatening abuses of transnational corporations and organizing successful grassroots campaigns to hold corporations accountable to consumers and society at large. Infact is an NGO in Official Relations with the World Health Organization (WHO). The Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) includes 75 NGOs from more than 50 countries working for a strong, enforceable Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. For more information visit www.infact.org
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