ITEM 2. 7
OVERVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL ISSUES AND DEVELOPMENTS
The Secretariat does not yet have a complete
picture of tobacco
issues and industry activity worldwide and will
not have until
it is able to call in and analyse information from
around the
world. However, enough information and
intelligence has been
obtained or received by the Secretariat to make
certain
assumptions and generalizations.
International Organizations
1. WHO and other UN/related agencies
The WHO will increase its smoking control
activities. Its
budget for these activities has been raised
substantially
for 1982 and 1983 and it is being helped
increasingly by
national agencies.
It remains to be seen what the future thrust of
its
program will be, since two events have caused WHO
to
reexamine its priorities. It did not receive the
favourable response it had hoped for from other UN
agencies at a special meeting last February. It
was
bruised by the aggressive tactics of the infant
fcrmula
industry before and during the World Health
Assembly in
May.
The WHO must report to the 1982 World Health
Assembly on
its work since the 1980 WHA at which a resolution
was
approved (orchestrated by WHO), calling on WHO to
"further
develop an effective WHO action program on smoking
and
health".
The Secretariat will receive an in-depth report by
the end
of September which should indicate future plans.
On the action side, WHO is being aided by the
UICC, which
is running smoking control workshops around the
world in
which issues and strategies are being discussed by
government bureaucrats and private health agency
officials.
2. EEC
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(See Secretariat report of August 18, 1981 and EC
Task
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3. Council of Europe
The Health Ministers of the member governments
will meet
in September to start formulating policies on
prevention
of illness and education for health. References to
smoking appear frequently in preparatory papers.
This will be a long-term effort, but it can be
expected to
provide encouragement to those pursuing
anti-smoking
programs in other international organizations and
at the
national level.
Issues and Strategies
The social acceptability issue is being broadened
beyond
"passive" smoking and alleged costs to society. In
indus-
trialized countries particularly, smoking is seen
increasingly
as socially unacceptable because, it is said, it
runs contrary
to modern app~:oaches to health and particularly
prevention of
illness. Lighter diets, less alcohol, regular
exercise, etc.,
form a positive pattern of behavior in which, it
is alleged,
smoking is a harmful contradiction. All strategies
and
restrictions stem from this assumption:
Cigarette advertising, which by its existence
implies social
acceptability, must be restricted or banned.
Education and propaganda programs must convince
people that
smoking is harmful to them and to others.
These programs must be reinforced by stronger,
more clever
caution notices; punitive taxation; tar, nicotine
and CO
,information; and public smoking bans.
Business and governments must be persuaded that
smoking
represents a net cost to their treasuries and the
public must
be made aware that inevitably they pay for this
cost.
Tobacco Industry Record
Generally speaking, the tobacco industry has been
entirely on
the defensive. It has steadily (and sometimes,
dramatically)
lost ground- On only a few occasions has it
managed to
maintain the status quo.
In most countries, it has no ongoing program of
strategies to
enable it to stay ahead or abreast of developments
and to
prevent unreasonable restrictions.
These national programs are lacking because
national managers:
1) do not think they are necessary or,
00
2) cannot reconcile them with competitive,
short-term, bottom-
line concerns.
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2.8 Proposals for Steps to Strengthen the
Industry's Public Position
This is a plea, amongst other things, to solve the
problems outlined
in the last sentence of the previous section.
Basically, what is
being said is that the Industry should unite and
put money behind its
efforts, One of the most notable elements of
disunity at the moment
is the Barclay case in the USA. This has, in fact,
inhibited the
work of one of the project teams inside SAWP to a
certain extent.
The White Paper on Primary Health Issues
This may be an attempt to streamline and produce a
common document
based on the type of concepts that are being put
forward in our own
new stance and Lionel Blackman's blue booklet.
Marketing Code with Self-Regulation Mechanism
We have already drawn up an acceptable draft with
Philip Morris. We
could consider feeding this into IVOTAB, either as
individual companies
or acknowledging that we have made a joint start.
Caution Notice
I have not had a chance to show this item to Alec
Morini because he is
away. I think, however, he would see some merit in
it because it re-
inforces the position that the public cannot claim
to be ignorant.
This is in line with the Volenti defence. I am not
quite sure how
Imperial would view this proposal.
Scientific Research on Passive Smoking
This seems to me to be a good propcsal. In the USA
a further seminar
has been planned on passive smoking. Presumably,
one of the things
that could come out of such a seminar is the
suggestion of where
further research might go.
INFOTAB 'Position Paper" (Lausanne Declaration)
We have already put forward one suggestion under
the next item, namely
no. 3 on the Agenda, for the att16ae on
legislation on advertising to
be re-considered. I think perhaps the paper could
be tidied up, but,
apart from the suggestion made above, have no
particular recommendations
for its improvement. I believe the suggestion of
the Secretary General
to re-draft it should be agreed.
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