Domestic Legislation

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act

On June 22nd, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. This is a critical step toward regulating one of the least regulated products in commerce, and reversing an epidemic that continues to be the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
 
It is a victory for public health that has been a long time coming. For more than 15 years Corporate Accountability has joined with its allies in calling for Food and Drug Administration regulation of tobacco – in particular, the curtailing of tobacco advertising and promotion.
The Act also lays the groundwork for U.S. ratification of the global tobacco treaty. As the President noted in his remarks yesterday, “We know that even with the passage of this legislation, our work to protect our children and improve the public's health is not complete. Today, tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death not just in America, but also in the world. If current trends continue, one billion people will die from tobacco-related illnesses this century. And so the United States will continue to work with the World Health Organization and other nations to fight this epidemic on a global basis.”

This success is not without its complications, however. The Act allows for tobacco industry representation on a new scientific advisory committee. Inclusion of the industry on this committee is inconsistent with the treaty’s implementation guidelines – guidelines that were unanimously endorsed by parties to the treaty last November in Durban, South Africa.

U.S. policymakers must now prepare for inevitable attempts by Big Tobacco to delay and thwart the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Altria (Philip Morris USA) claimed to support the legislation, though it played a central role in challenging FDA regulation of tobacco throughout the 1990s. Philip Morris International, which no longer manufactures or markets tobacco in the U.S., nonetheless has a lobbying presence in Washington, DC. PMI CEO Louis Camilleri told shareholders that “We are a U.S. company. . . . We need politicians’ help.” The Association of National Advertisers has already stated its intention to fight the Act’s limits on tobacco marketing and promotion, and expects a tobacco corporation to take a lead on the suit.
 
Congress and the President are to be commended for enacting this important legislation. Tomorrow will be the test of our leaders’ resolve in standing up to the tobacco lobby for the long haul. Ratifying the treaty and eliminating dangerous conflicts of interest with public health down the line will demonstrate this resolve.

Global Tobacco Treaty

Why should the U.S. ratify the global tobacco treaty?

U.S. ratification would protect current and future generations of Americans from tobacco addiction, disease and death. More than 400,000 Americans die each year from tobacco related illness. The U.S., after signing the global tobacco treaty on May 10, 2004, has waited far too long to ratify it.

What does the global tobacco treaty include?

• Through the comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, an end to images like Philip Morris/Altria’s Marlboro Man, which has been lethally effective at hooking new young customers;
   
• Through the provisions on packaging and labeling, new and graphic health warnings covering at least 30% of the front and back faces of cigarette packs—warnings that  have been effective in countries like Canada and Brazil;
   
• Media and public awareness campaigns with strong, uncompromising health messages — countering the tobacco industry’s “corporate social responsibility” and so called “youth smoking prevention” efforts; and
   
• Federal taxation policies focused on reducing tobacco consumption, and cooperation with other parties to the treaty to hold the tobacco industry financially liable for the harms it causes.

Why now?

Over 160 countries have ratified the treaty; it is time that our country joins the rest of the world in ratifying the world’s first public health treaty. The U.S. is among a dwindling minority of countries that have not ratified the life-saving treaty.

By ratifying the treaty, the U.S. would become a full participant in its enforcement body, the Conference of the Parties (COP).

Congress has just taken a huge step forward by passing legislation to provide FDA authority over tobacco, isn’t that enough?

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act is a step in the right direction. Our government must act now to ratify the global tobacco treaty and implement its life-saving measures.

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The STOP Act H.R. 5689

Corporate Accountability International and our members stand resolutely behind Representative Lloyd Doggett (TX) and more than 100 co-sponsors in supporting H.R. 5689, which contains new and stronger requirements on labeling, tracking and reporting by the tobacco industry.

Once a leader in tobacco control, the United States has fallen out of step with the international community by failing to ratify the global tobacco treaty, formally known as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). President Bush signed the treaty in 2004, but has yet to submit it to the Senate for ratification. The U.S. therefore lacks protections against the illicit tobacco trade, a ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and measures to protect health policy from tobacco industry interference—all of which are included in the treaty.

The STOP Act is an essential stop gap until the U.S. joins more than 160 countries that have ratified the global tobacco treaty and are negotiating a protocol specifically designed to combat the illicit tobacco trade.

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