Global Campaign Against Tobacco Trafficking

Source from:  jointogether.org February 12, 2008  02/13/2008

Antismoking groups and governments -- but not tobacco companies -- are taking part in talks to amend the global tobacco-control treaty and crack down on the international trafficking in tobacco products, Bloomberg News reported Feb. 11. Saying that illicit trade in tobacco costs governments billions in lost tax revenue annually, representatives from 150 countries are meeting in Geneva to discuss changes to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. "The current treaty does not put in place the concrete practical steps needed to curtail smuggling," said Matthew Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Smuggling, bootlegging and counterfeiting are all part of the illegal tobacco trade. Tobacco companies have been excluded from the Geneva discussions but say they too have an interest in fighting tobacco trafficking, which costs the industry tens of billions of dollars in sales. "We strongly support the need for a global protocol, but we are immensely disappointed to be excluded from the discussions," said Michael Prideaux, a spokesman for British American Tobacco. "We can make a productive and practical contribution to the debate, but they describe this as industry interference." Enditem