Girding for new battles in the war against Big …...after the takeover last year of Reynolds...
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connexion Français English Español Português Deutsch ﺔﺑﻟﻌ Home News 5 Mar 2018 The name of the conference, "Tobacco OR Health", leaves no room for doubt: you can't have both. "The cigarette is the single most deadly consumer product ever made," said Ruth Malone, a professor at the University of California's San Francisco School of Nursing and editor-in-chief of the Tobacco Control journal. Tobacco claims nearly seven million lives yearly from cancer and other lung diseases, and accounts for about one-in-10 deaths worldwide, a million in China alone, according to the World Health Organization. Even as the percentage of adults who smoke has dropped in rich nations and plateaued in some emerging ones, the total number of smokers keeps climbing, driven by an expanding global population and more people in poor countries lighting up. The industry sells 5.5 trillion cigarettes last year to nearly a billion smokers, generating some $700 billion (570 billion euros) in sales. "The fact remains that one out of every four men still smoke, as do one out every 20 women," Emmanuela Gakidou, a researcher at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told AFP. - 'Tobacco epidemic' - What the WHO calls a "tobacco epidemic" eats up one trillion dollars in healthcare expenses and lost productivity every year. But the United Nations, governments, NGOs and activists have not stood by idly. The 180-nation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the only treaty negotiated under the WHO, lays out actions for curbing supply and demand. Measures include higher prices and taxes, laws to curb smoking in public places, graphic labelling on the dangers of tobacco, banning advertising, and programmes to help people quit. "The single most effective measure to reduce tobacco use is to increase the price of tobacco products, through taxation or pricing," Kelley Lee, a policy expert at Simpson Fraser University in British Columbia, told AFP. Australia, Canada, France, Britain and other European countries have also pushed through laws requiring logo-free, plain packaging dominated by graphic images such as rotted teeth and throats wasted by cancer. 5 MAR 2018 Tweet 0 Share Girding for new battles in the war against Big Tobacco The global network of Agence France Presse covers 151 countries Find out more AFP's worldwide network If you have news to share or a question, comment or suggestion, contact us via... MAIL FACEBOOK TWITTER Contact us Find out more Search Some 3,000 anti-tobacco experts and policy makers convening this week in Cape Town, South Africa confront an industry flush with profits and determined to expand the market for its deadly product. The 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health, meeting from March 7 to 9, will review the latest research on e-cigarettes, debate which policies best blunt tobacco sales, and take stock of worrying trends across the developing world. AFP/File / MOHD RASFAN "The cigarette is the single most deadly consumer product ever made," said Ruth Malone, a professor at the University of California Cities around the world have banned smoking in public places, including Shanghai last 0 Like THE NEWS THE AGENCY PRODUCTS INSIDE AFP Washington (AFP) - 03/04/2018 - 22:28 US condemns Syria's Russia-backed assault on Eastern Ghouta Girding for new battles in the war against Big Tobacco | AFP.com https://www.afp.com/en/news/826/girding-new-battles-war-again... 1 of 3 05/03/18, 12:07
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5Mar2018
The name of the conference, "Tobacco OR Health", leaves no room for doubt: you can'thave both.
"The cigarette is the single most deadly consumer product ever made," said RuthMalone, a professor at the University of California's San Francisco School of Nursing andeditor-in-chief of the Tobacco Control journal.
Tobacco claims nearly seven million lives yearly from cancer and other lung diseases,and accounts for about one-in-10 deaths worldwide, a million in China alone, according tothe World Health Organization.
Even as the percentage of adults who smoke has dropped in rich nations and plateauedin some emerging ones, the total number of smokers keeps climbing, driven by anexpanding global population and more people in poor countries lighting up.
The industry sells 5.5 trillion cigarettes last year to nearly a billion smokers, generatingsome $700 billion (570 billion euros) in sales.
"The fact remains that one out of every four men still smoke, as do one out every 20women," Emmanuela Gakidou, a researcher at the University of Washington's Institutefor Health Metrics and Evaluation, told AFP.
- 'Tobacco epidemic' -
What the WHO calls a "tobacco epidemic" eats up one trillion dollars in healthcareexpenses and lost productivity every year.
But the United Nations, governments, NGOs and activists have not stood by idly.
The 180-nation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the only treaty negotiatedunder the WHO, lays out actions for curbing supply and demand.
Measures include higher prices and taxes, laws to curb smoking in public places, graphiclabelling on the dangers of tobacco, banning advertising, and programmes to help peoplequit.
"The single most effective measure to reduce tobacco use is to increase the price oftobacco products, through taxation or pricing," Kelley Lee, a policy expert at SimpsonFraser University in British Columbia, told AFP.
Australia, Canada, France, Britain and other European countries have also pushedthrough laws requiring logo-free, plain packaging dominated by graphic images such asrotted teeth and throats wasted by cancer.
5M A R2018
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Girding for new battles in the war againstBig Tobacco
The global network of Agence France Presse covers151 countries
Find out more
AFP's worldwidenetwork
If you have news to share or a question,comment or suggestion, contact us via...
MAIL FACEBOOK TWITTER
Contact us
Find out more
Search
Some 3,000 anti-tobacco experts andpolicy makers convening this week inCape Town, South Africa confront anindustry flush with profits and determinedto expand the market for its deadlyproduct.
The 17th World Conference on Tobacco orHealth, meeting from March 7 to 9, willreview the latest research on e-cigarettes,debate which policies best blunt tobaccosales, and take stock of worrying trendsacross the developing world.
AFP/File / MOHD RASFAN
"The cigarette is the single most deadlyconsumer product ever made," said RuthMalone, a professor at the University ofCalifornia
Cities around the world have banned smoking in public places, including Shanghai last
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THE NEWS THE AGENCY PRODUCTS INSIDE AFP
Washington (AFP) - 03/04/2018 - 22:28US condemns Syria's Russia-backed assault on Eastern Ghouta
Girding for new battles in the war against Big Tobacco | AFP.com https://www.afp.com/en/news/826/girding-new-battles-war-again...
1 of 3 05/03/18, 12:07
- Asian tobacco giants -
At the same time, however, they have barely dented industry profits.
British American Tobacco -- the largest publically-traded tobacco company in the worldafter the takeover last year of Reynolds American -- raked in 5.2 billion pounds (5.8 billioneuros, $7.2 billion) in profits in 2016.
The shares of all major listed tobacco companies soared in 2017.
"The tobacco industry has learned to wield extensive political influence to survive, andeven thrive, despite producing and marketing a product that kills half of its regularcustomers," said Lee.
"There is no easy way to challenge such a powerful industry given its deep pockets."
Indeed, experts express concern about several developments in the last few years.
One is the aggressive expansion of state-run tobacco monopolies in East Asia.
"The global market share of the new emerging -- especially Asian -- tobacco companiesis growing rapidly," said Jappe Eckhardt, a professor at the University of York in England.
Japan Tobacco International, he said, morphed in less than a decade from a domesticallyoriented company to a major multinational.
"Our research shows that Korea is going to follow suit," with Taiwan and Indonesia not farbehind, he told AFP.
- Jury still out on e-cigarettes -
"And China's national company" -- the largest in the world, with a 42 percent marketshare of cigarettes sold -- "is poised to dwarf all existing companies in the forseeablefuture."
Another hot topic at the conference will be e-cigarettes, which has caused a "sharpdivision" in the public health community, said Lee.
Big Tobacco has invested heavily in electronic cigarettes.
In the meantime, industry has opened up a legal front in the war over tobacco, launchingdozens of lawsuits against governments on every continent trying to enact anti-smokinglaws.
In one recent case, Philip Morris sued the government of Uruguay, claiming that itspackaging laws violated an investment treaty with Switzerland.
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year.
Health advocates say these efforts havesaved 35 million lives over the lastdecade.
AFP/File / FAYEZ NURELDINE
The "tobacco epidemic" eats up one trilliondollars (800 billion euros) in healthcareexpenses and lost productivity every year
"Given how relatively new these productsare, we just don't have the data on theirlong-term health impacts," Lee told AFP.
The jury is still out, she said, on whethervaping is a "gateway" to combustiblesmoking, and may be dangerous in itself.
GETTY IMAGES NORTHAMERICA/AFP/File / JUSTIN SULLIVAN
E-cigarettes have divided the public healthcommunity
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