The New Straits Times, July 2, 2000
By Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
MANY of us will stay up tonight to watch France take on Italy in the Euro 2000 final.
Football has a huge following in this country. It is rightly recognised as a national game, although at times it sad to note that much of it has been somewhat "privatised" to the tobacco industry. In fact, the major leagues and prizes even carry the name of the cigarette brand of the sponsor.
This is sadder still when compared to Euro 2000. Not even a hint of involvement by the industry can be seen in the tournament. A stark contrast to what we see in Malaysia and Asia as a whole, where the tobacco companies are the main financiers of the game.
In its May 31 issue, the UK Independent newspaper reported that "Asian TV firms take tobacco money for Euro 2000".
According to the report, Lord Faulkner, the former vice-chairman of UK's Football Task Force, wrote to Fifa, football"s world governing body, to protest at Euro 2000 being used to promote tobacco in developing countries. This is despite rules drawn up by Fifa to stop it.
Malaysia -- dubbed by tobacco control advocates as the world's tobacco brand stretching capital -- was specially mentioned when the Fifa president was sent an advertisement from the New Sunday Times for television coverage of Euro 2000.
Malaysian TV viewers, over the last few weeks, have been bombarded with numerous tobacco advertisements as part of the deal to broadcast Euro 2000.
In additions, there were also radio segments, a nationwide "Soccerfest" enlisting sports personalities and celebrities to indirectly endorse the product, also a competition with some petrol outlets. All these investments were calculated "to project an image of tobacco use as glamorous, fun, healthy, sophisticated and wealthy".
In the print media, an on-going study conducted by the National Poison Centre, shows that between January and May alone, more that 230 tobacco-related advertisements were placed in five mainstream English and Malay dailies. On average more than one advertisement is being published daily.
As expected, advertisements with themes related to entertainment and sports are billed as the most frequent; the former more than 60 times, and the latter more than 55 times over the five-month period. In May alone tobacco-related sports advertisements appeared 21 times, mostly directed at football.
Is it any wonder then that the president of the Malaysian Tobacco Curer's Association recently remarked that four million Malaysians had been identified as smokers, spending more than RM10 million a day buying cigarettes? Based on this, he estimated RM3.8 billion was being spent annually, and this amount is increasing (Mingguan Malaysia, June 25).
More significantly, he alleged that the increase is largely due to the influence of advertisements, especially the electronic media.
Although Euro 2000 is nearly over, Malaysians are still being swarmed by tobacco sponsorships of the different football leagues. In this case the situation is actually worse, in that the tobacco industry's presence seems ubiquitous. It has practically a monopoly on the publicity of the event, ranging from the jacket worn by the TV hosts to the jerseys of the two competing teams, and sometimes the scoreboards as well.
All this is happening at a time when tobacco companies on the other side of the globe are admitting tobacco is addictive, and causes a host of health problems, notably cancer. Almost an antithesis of what sports stand for.
A case in point is that three of the five world's largest cigarette companies have now acknowledged the link between smoking and health problems, when three years ago all said there was no proof smoking caused disease.
Despite this new admission from the horse's mouth, it looks as though our sporting bodies and authorities, including the Ministry of Youth and Sports, are unmoved.
They continue to permit themselves to be duped. Despite WHO slogan on the recent World No-Tobacco Day 2000: "Tobacco kills - Don't Be Duped" that situation remains very much unchanged.
Yet when the political will prevails, Malaysians can organise world class sporting events without so much as a mention of tobacco. Even Sukma did not receive any tobacco advertisements.
Perhaps it is worthwhile to quote just what the three companies openly admitted in the US. An attorney for one was quoted as telling the jury, "We agree with the public health authorities and the surgeon-general that smoking causes disease."
Another followed by saying that the chief executive would say that it had been the company's position that "smoking causes cancer. There is no confusion about that whatsoever."
Similarly three years ago, Liggett's owner was the first tobacco executive to say smoking causes disease and is addictive.
How can our sporting bodies and authorities ignore all these admissions and continue as though nothing of significance has happened?
Or do we continue to turn a deaf ear, and let more of our youngsters be sacrificial lambs?
In sports, Malaysians shout Malaysia Boleh as the clarion call backing the Government and, in particular, the Ministry of Youth and Sports. It is time to return the favour, and support the call of Malaysians, in the name of health, to make our sports tobacco-free.
With the recent report that "the Cabinet has agreed to increase tax imposed on tobacco and ban indirect advertisement of the product in sports events", sports-free Malaysia can be a reality soon enough (Sun, June 23).
Indeed to quote the Ministry of Health, the government "does not gain anything" by allowing sponsorships from tobacco companies for sports and other events. Instead by imposing higher tax on the product, the government can "easily raise RM600 million in a year".
More importantly, according to the World Health Organization for every 10 percent increase in tax, tobacco consumption is expected to decrease 2-8 per cent. For those in low-income group and youngsters, the decrease is even more noticeable.
Yes, Malaysia Boleh. The ball is now in the Ministry's court.
