The New Straits Times, July 25, 1997
Although the recent proposed deal with the tobacco companies is dubbed as a 'global' settlement. It is in fact a misnomer.
It is a deal carved out through the viewpoints of the United States for the benefit of its citizens. The proposal says nothing about international tobacco regulation or control outside the US despite the fact that the tobacco industry is truly 'global' in its outfit and operations.
As such, nothing in the proposed settlement will influence the tobacco companies to cut back on the marketing, lobbing and manipulating of consumers in other countries to acquire the addictive habits of smoking.
As it turns out, the international tobacco trade is becoming even more important now that US sales are levelling off, if not declining.
In other word, the international community at large has been made sacrifical lambs in the name of the so-called 'global' settlement heralded by some as a historic event.
This is despite the protest from a group representing 19 countries (including Malaysia) emphasising that the settlement should not be labelled as a 'global' one.
This is because the settlement does not offer the global population any protection similar to that being proposed for the US.
On the contrary, what-ever gains the US citizens derive out of the proposed settlement will be lost in the rest of the world whose citizens will invariably be faced with increased and intense subjugation from the very same tobacco companies.
In all probability, many millions more sticks of cigarettes will be pushed into Third World countries following an even more aggressive media blitz in the effort to make up for the reduced US sales.
Al ready this seems to be happening. Indications point to the fact that tobacco companies are quite willing to yet again exploit the relatively 'unregulated' markets in many Third World countries.
For example, although the proposed settlement is quite explicit about the removal of images like cartoons and human forms from all cigarette advertisements, the tobacco industry seems to ignore just that when it comes to promotion in other countries, including Malaysia.
In fact, a recent report suggested that many Third World countries continued to be being bombarded with precisely this sort of advertisements.
A case in point is the cartoon character Joe Camel, popularised as a mascot by one tobacco company.
While it has been a subject of recent controversy when the US Federal Trade Commission revealed that it has been targeting children (NST, June 13) the company, RJR International, is bent on using it outside the US.
A company spokesman has been quoted as saying that they have no plans to end the promotion nor limit future use of the cartoon outside of the US.
It make one wonder whether the tobacco companies are in fact segregating the American kids from those of the rest of the world. Otherwise why is the latter not accorded the same treatment?
For the children in Malaysia, even if Joe Camel may not be such a big fuss today, going by such statements from the tobacco company, there is still a likehood that the cartoon character will make its star appearance here soon to 'light up' our kids. This is more than just a probability given the current laxity of our policy on tobacco-related advertisements.
Last week, the National Poison Centre took a look at what the tobacco advertised in the main-stream Press and the findings are indeed telling (NST, July, 18).
If Joe Camel is not our immediate concern, Marlboro Man - another image that is causing similar concern - seems to be. Last month alone, the brand for which this image represents is featured frequently in the five major dailies that were tracked - almost three times more frequently than other brands advertised in the same period.
As expected, the image is displayed in a variety of ways often associated with outdoor life and sporting events.
All in all, the intended impact will be no less captivating to children and youth as the Joe Camel advertisements.
In other words, unless severely curbed, tobacco companies will adopt double standards.
They have never been on record as being responsible enough to adhere to any form of international norms based on standards practised in the US. And there is no reason to expect the same this time around.
What they do outside the US seems to be a different ball game altogether.
They apparently do not want to recognise that tobacco addiction is as much a public health problem in the US as it is for the rest of the world, if not more so.
They seem to disregard the fact that adverse effects arising from tobacco smoking are no different, regardless of geographical boundaries or locations.
In short, the tobacco companies are deliberately treating the rest of the world as second class citizens who do not deserve any better.
Thus unless we learn to assert our right, nothing will make them change. Our future generations will continue to be at the mercy of the tobacco companies despite the so-called historic 'global' settlement.
If there is anything that we ought to learn from this, it is that even the most invincible cartel will buckle, if only there is political will and consolidated multi-pronged pressure from all parties.
