Statement from Gail Covelluzzi at the Philip Morris International Shareholders' Meeting

Good morning. My name is Gail Covelluzzi and I’m with Corporate Accountability International.

While PMI claims to support regulation and demands a seat at the table in setting tobacco control policies, activists around the world are calling on the corporation to keep out of public policymaking. This example comes from our Latin America Coordinator, Yul Francisco Dorado, whom you met at the last annual shareholders’ meeting of Altria as a parent to both PMI and PM USA.

In Colombia just 10 days ago, the President of PMI subsidiary Coltabaco placed an op-ed in El Tiempo, the largest circulation daily in Colombia, entitled “Please Regulate Us.” While purporting to support a bill before the Colombian Senate, Jon Ruiz argued against “extremes” in the legislation and instead promoted the corporation’s self-regulation and alleged support for restrictions on marketing to youth.

PMI’s stance runs counter to the global tobacco treaty, of which Colombia is a party. In fact, the amendments decried by PMI would strengthen Colombia’s compliance with the treaty. According to new guidelines supporting treaty implementation, ratifying countries should not accept tobacco industry voluntary codes as a substitute for legally enforceable tobacco control measures. Nor should they accept tobacco industry assistance in drafting legislation.

Treaty guidelines recognize so-called “corporate social responsibility” by the tobacco industry as a form of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship that should be denormalized and banned. So-called “youth smoking prevention” campaigns by PMI and other tobacco corporations are also seen for what they are – the fox guarding the henhouse – a disastrous strategy that ratifying countries should stop.

Mr. Camilleri, why does PMI continue attempting to undermine implementation of the global tobacco treaty in countries like Colombia?