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News analysisINDIA: ITC’S ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDHealth advocates in India have expressedexasperation that The Energy andResources Institute–TERI–has made aprestigious award to ITC, the country’slargest tobacco producer. TERI’s directorgeneral is Dr R K Pachauri, who chairs theUnited Nations Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change. This most importantinstitution was joint winner of a NobelPrize in 2007 for its work on globalwarming and sustainability. Hence theTERI award, for ITC’s work on watershed management, carries a great deal ofprestige, and will no doubt be added tothe growing list of corporate socialresponsibility honours that the companyproudly flags up on its website.
The highly respected Voluntary HealthAssociation of India–VHAI–was amongthe health agencies which wrote to DrPachauri to protest at how inappropriateit was to make the award to a companywhose products cause such a massiveburden of ill health and premature death.It was well established, wrote VHAI, thathealth-destroying industries such as thetobacco industry, were trying their best toachieve a corporate makeover, showcasingtheir work in positive developmentalefforts and downplaying the huge profitthey make by selling tobacco products.But the reply it received, from the TERIcorporate awards staff rather than fromDr Pachauri himself, was all too predict-able: the award was given for ITC’ssustainability initiative only.
Nevertheless, Indian public opinion ischanging, thanks to the tireless efforts ofincreasing numbers of non-governmentalorganisations and their volunteers.Together they have raised the country’sconsciousness to a level that generatesspontaneous protest at such news. Oneparticularly appropriate if darkly humor-ous response to the TERI award camefrom a cancer surgeon at the famous TataMemorial hospital in Mumbia, Dr PankajChaturvedi. As skilful on a drawing boardas in the operating theatre, he produced acartoon about the award, combiningtobacco and another of India’s perennial
health and social concerns–populationgrowth. The TERI award must reallyhave been given for population control,the cartoon suggested, referring to theunfortunate effects of ITC’s cigarettes.
ISRAEL: FREE MEALS FOR SMOKED-OUTDINERSAll over the world, managers of restau-rants and other hospitality venues defendtheir reluctance to introduce smoke-freeareas, or fight tooth and nail againstproposals for them, due to fears that theywill lose profits. The tobacco industryusually does its best to scare them intobelieving this, often using false informa-tion from countries where smoking banshave actually increased business.Although non-smokers often comprisethe majority of customers, badly informedor lazy managers have ignored theirdemands. Unfortunately, even when atotal workplace ban has been implemen-ted, many are often still tempted to turn ablind eye when regular customers reachfor their cigarettes.
Last year, Israel scored a world first inhitting these non-enforcing managerswhere it hurts most: in the very samepocket they were trying to protect byletting smokers continue to ruin the mealsof the non-smoking majority of their
customers. This was the result of a casebrought before a court in July 2007 byveteran tobacco control advocate andlawyer Amos Hausner, who representedthe interest of diners at a restaurant inJerusalem that refused to honour its legalobligations to provide a smoke-free envir-onment for its customers.
A lawsuit was filed in the form of aclass action, with a suggested remedy ofNIS 1,000 compensation (US$300) foreach member of the class, which wasdefined as all the patrons of the restaurantin who were exposed to second-handsmoke (between 15 May to 15 June2007). The case was mediated by a trialjudge and a settlement was reached whichspecified that first, smoking would bebanned in the restaurant, and no servicegiven to those who violated the ban; andsecond, that all class members–an esti-mated 4,000 people–be entitled to tenmeals in the restaurant at a discount of60%. Furthermore, every class memberwill be able to use an additional voucherto invite one or two guests at thesame rates, simply presenting the vou-chers at the end of the meal.
The definition of the class is very broad,and it includes all people who declare, inan affidavit whose costs have to be paidby the defendants, that they visited therestaurant during the one month period.No written proof will be required and–asthe lawyer for the restaurant owners
All articles written by David Simpsonunless otherwise attributed. Ideas anditems for News Analysis should be sentto: [email protected]
India: a cartoon suggests why a big tobacco company might win an environmental award.
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complained before the court–even peoplewho came to the restaurant ‘‘just tochange money’’ or ‘‘those who came withpeople whom they knew would smoke’’–are entitled to the compensation. Theclass even includes people who smoke, butdid not smoke at the restaurant in therelevant month. The settlement furtherimposes personal liability on the restau-rant owner for the performance of thesettlement, and provides that class mem-bers who do not get the discounted mealwill still be able to collect its cash valuefrom the defendants.
The settlement came before JudgeYitzhak Inbar of the Jerusalem districtcourt. When approving it, despite thedefence brought before him, judge Inbardescribed the class action as a goodmechanism to enforce the country’ssmoking ban, which was expanded inNovember 2007. He said that followingthe court approval, each member of theclass would have the necessary legalstanding to enforce the ban individuallyin contempt of court proceedings, mean-ing that the owner may face arrestor heavy fines if the law is violated. Ineffect, a person who does not complywith the specifics of the class actiondecision may be arrested or subject to aheavy fine until full compliance isachieved̀ and that this outcome could bebrought about by any one or more ofthousands of people.
The official announcements of thesettlement to the public, scheduled for 5September in the national and local press,will enable class members to enjoy thebenefits during the following 13 months,until October 2009. The parties estimatedthe value of the settlement at NIS 2.5million (US$700,000). On top of all this,the restaurant’s owners have also had tobear the legal expenses and the costs ofadvertising and inspecting the operationof the settlement. It seems more thanlikely that other restaurants will be sureto leave smoking outside to avoid asimilar bill.
LITHUANIA: BRAND SWITCHING LANDS INCOURTThe state tobacco and alcohol controlagency recently imposed fines on retailersof two types of goods bearing cigarettebrand names–Marlboro Classic clothingand Davidoff perfumes–and ordered theirdistributors to stop supplying the pro-ducts in Lithuania. The order was madeunder Lithuania’s tobacco control law,which imposes a total ban on all forms oftobacco promotion. According to healthprofessionals, the reaction of the news
media to the move was almost unbelie-vable, reeking of tobacco industry soph-istry, with the state agency’s workersbeing accused of stupidity as if they wereunable to see the difference betweenperfume, clothes and tobacco products.
Apranga Group, which distributesMarlboro clothing, claims to be theleading clothing retailer in the Balticstates, with 60 stores in Lithuania alone.After the initiation of the court process,Apranga’s website continued to listMarlboro Classic as one of its brands.The Davidoff distributor expunged fromits own website advertisements for theproducts with probably the most mal-odorous associations in the world ofperfumery.
The international tobacco industry’screation of dozens of products bearingcigarette brand names in order to getround early cigarette advertising banshas caused endless chaos around theworld. In theory, a tough, comprehensiveban on all forms of tobacco promotionshould enable governments to givecigarette companies a simple choice:either ensure that non-tobacco productswith cigarette brand names are removedfrom the market–which may requirebuying out the local distributors’ licencesand paying them compensation–orremove those particular cigarettes fromthe market. While arguments that thenon-tobacco cigarette brands were createdfor reasons other than to advertise cigar-ettes–such as capitalising on the ‘‘goodname’’ of the brand–would mostly bedishonest but in all cases pathetic, in thelight of the unparalleled mortality andmorbidity caused by smoking, manycountries have allowed the charade to goon too long for a quick and easy solutionto be possible.
The result, as health advocates aroundthe world witness every day, is usually amess of fudges and compromises. In theUK, for example, non-tobacco goods withcigarette names have been able to stay onthe market, but their promotional para-phernalia has to use different fonts andlogos from those on the cigarette pack,thereby inviting design brinkmanship thatinevitably leaves a certain level of con-tinuing promotional power for the cigar-ettes. If the Lithuanian government wereto win the forthcoming court case, itwould strike a real blow for industry-proof legislation.
WORLD: THE PACK IS WHERE IT’S ATDuring the 1990s, plain packaging oftobacco products was on the policyagenda of leading tobacco control nations.
Canada came close to adopting this boldmove, but intense tobacco industry lob-bying and legal threats saw it fall from thegovernment policy priority plan. With theinternational advent of graphic healthwarnings and retail display bans, plainpackaging has resumed its rightful placeon the advocacy agenda.
Several nations have turned the heat upon this simmering issue. Since May, theUK Department of Health has beenconducting a consultation on the futureof tobacco control which includes thequestion, ‘‘Do you believe that plainpackaging of tobacco products has meritas an initiative to reduce smoking uptakeby young people?’’ In April 2008, theCanadian government undertook publicopinion research showing that cigarettepackages that were 100% covered in agraphic health warning were not onlymore effective in communicating the risksof smoking, but also rendered the cigar-ette package far less attractive. ACanadian tobacco research conference inNovember 2008 will feature a day longworkshop to re-establish the case for plainpackaging.
Momentum on generic packs is gather-ing in Australia, too. In July, in responseto the state of New South Wales announ-cing a tobacco retail display ban, veterantobacco control advocate and researcherprofessor Mike Daube, based in WesternAustralia, said in a radio interview, ‘‘It’stime that we move to plain packaging ofcigarettes. There’s a vast amount ofevidence now coming through from onceconfidential tobacco industry documentsthat for the tobacco companies, even thedesign of the pack is a really importantpromotional vehicle.’’
This plain packaging revival will domore than regulate tobacco branding tothe back of the pack: it could see it vanishcompletely.
Becky [email protected]
School of Public Health, University of Sydney,Australia
AUSTRALIA: DON’T MENTION THEPRODUCTTobacco corporations operating inAustralia’s ‘‘dark market’’ will exploitany opportunity to promote themselves.The inclusion of a one-page, full-colourpromotion in the Sydney Morning Herald’s‘‘Employer of Choice’’ magazine recentlyby British American Tobacco Australia,the Australian subsidiary of BAT, is aparticularly explicit example of suchdetermination. The company was
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described as a ‘‘rewarding’’ place to work,and one that delivers on commitments toemployees of a work-life balance andsupport and development. It also pro-mised to make good on broader promisesof a ‘‘positive community and environ-mental impact.’’
The entire supplement was clearlylabelled as an advertising feature andBAT’s page, ‘‘Building Amazing Talent’’,prominently displayed the company’sfamiliar logo. Company officials and also,presumably, the newspaper’s editorswould no doubt argue that as the promo-tion extolled the virtues of working forBAT rather than its products, it was notin contravention of existing legislation.
Not mentioning cigarettes or, for thatmatter, any aspect of the tobacco industryis, of course, very much in the company’sbest recruiting interests. Apart from apassing reference to ‘‘operating in a some-times challenging industry’’ there was nomention of the fact that BAT brands willkill half of their customers, nor was thereany allusion to the range of cancers ormyriad other illnesses associated withsmoking and exposure to second-handsmoke.
BAT employees, however, can expect tobenefit from ‘‘onsite well-being’’ and‘‘health and lifestyle memberships’’ aspart of their employment package.Unfortunately, this focus on health isnot extended to BAT’s customers.
Ross MacKenzieUniversity of Sydney, Australia rmackenzie@
health.usyd.edu.au
BRAZIL: PFIZER DROPS PMCO-SPONSORSHIPIn June, yet another Philip Morris (PM)attempt to bond with journalists in adeveloping country was revealed.Especially disturbing was that the phar-maceutical and chemical company Pfizerwas co-sponsoring a journalist trainingprogramme, to be carried out by Brazil’sbiggest newspaper, Folha de S.Paulo. Logosof Pfizer, PM and a handful of othersponsors, including PM, were displayed innewspaper ads for the programme severaltimes in the weeks leading up to theevent.
The unhealthy link between a leadingmanufacturer of drugs to cure humanillness with that of one whose productscause it was quickly ameliorated. Whenhealth advocates contacted Pfizer’s localoffice to discuss the issue, they were toldthat the company had not known theidentity of all the other sponsors.However, Pfizer’s reaction was immediateand effective: it simply cancelled itssponsorship and promised to take thenecessary measures to prevent it fromhappening again, including careful scru-tiny when approached about joint spon-sorship deals. The action shows what justa telephone call or two can achieve whenthe industry tries to get away with a newpiece of self-reinvention.
AUSTRALIA: LICENCE TO KILL?It had to come: in the country that hasconsumption heading so steadfastlydownwards that researchers are beginningto forecast the end of all tobacco use, apolitician has dared to say the L-wordHealth minister Nicola Roxon recentlysuggested that the government might like
to consider licensing smokers. As reac-tionary commentators dismissed the ideaout of hand, health advocates pointed outthat as Australians need a license to drivea car, go fishing or own a dog, why was itso outrageous to think of a license to dosomething that eventually has a one intwo chance of killing you?
Cigarettes would not be banned, butaccess to them via a license would ensure,with participation by the medical profes-sionals who will otherwise have to treatthe results, that the industry’s customersdo at least have some chance of under-standing the risks they take and thedamage they have probably already done.Tobacco companies are not expected torush forward to help, despite their oft-repeated desire that consumers have allthe information they need to take anadult choice.
UK: GETTING ’EM HOOKED AT WAKESTOCKFESTIVALProving that there is nothing like asummer music festival for making contactwith young people, cigarette salesappeared to be booming at theWakestock festival at Abersoch, Wales inJuly. Each ‘‘porthole’’ contained a packetof 20 cigarettes, which were being sold atdiscount prices, promoted by attractiveyoung women. The upper area of theelaborate stand was used as a smokingarea. The audience was estimated to bealmost exclusively young, aged 16 to 20years, many of them still at school. Britishhealth advocates say they are noticingincreased use being made of the loopholein UK legislation that still allows promo-tion by means of pack displays, whichadds further urgency to ban all packdisplays and to move to generic packaging(see World: the pack is where it’s at,p298).
World: how plain packaging might look,according to researches in Australia.
Australia: BAT’s recruitment ad.
UK: extensive cigarette display and sales point,with smoking area upstairs, at the Wakestockmusic festival.
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CANADA: LAME SCHOOLS DUCK POLICYAsk anyone who has undertaken substan-tial research on school tobacco policiesand they will tell you the same: it is reallyjust an extension of what is found withparents–if you do the thing thoroughly,children will take notice. But if you allowexemptions here, and practice ‘‘do what Isay not what I do’’ exceptions there, thenresults are far from rewarding. And so ithas proved to be yet again, according to anew study from Canada.
Researchers in the province of BritishColumbia (BC) found that in several ofthe 30% of BC school districts do not bansmoking outright on school grounds,smoking was permitted in smoking pits,regardless of school district policy. Whileevidence suggests that enforcing atobacco-free environment for studentsdoes reduce adolescent smoking rates,safety and discipline problems for schoolstaff and administration may overrideconcerns about student smoking.
The new study used a qualitativeapproach to explore the meanings thatstudents place on tobacco control policyand the impact that these meanings haveon their own smoking behaviours. Theyfound that students were surprised andconcerned that smoking was permitted onschool property and that it negativelyimpacted their own tobacco prevention/control/cessation attempts. [Baillie L E, etal. Health Educ Res. 2008 Jul 17. (Epubahead of print)]
PHILIPPINES: BAD YEAR FOR PM’S PRIt has not been the best of years for PhilipMorris (PM) in the Philippines. First, inApril, the tobacco company that fanciesitself as glistening with the shiniest sheenof reinvented squeaky clean tobaccobrown found itself ditched from a presti-gious business group in the Philippines–for being the tar-brown tobacco companythat it is. On top of that, just a fewmonths later, it was rumbled trying tosponsor a superstar musician and youthicon.
Philippine Business for Social Progress(PBSP), a business sector group com-mitted to social development, apparentlydropped PM because it considered thatthe tobacco company had consistentlygiven corporate social responsibility (CSR)a bad name in the international businesscommunity. It is encouraging to note thatwhile PM constantly makes public state-ments about how much it cares for theyouth, cancer victims, farmers and theenvironment, business leaders concernedwith CSR programmes realised what itwas actually doing. They objected to the
way it had distorted the whole concept ofCSR globally by using this as a tool forlobbying and influence in many countriesaround the world.
Then in early August, it emerged thatPM was involved with a reunion concertby the popular Filipino band Eraserheads,whose popularity, especially with youth,have led to their being dubbed ‘‘thePhilippines Beatles’’. People who wantedtickets for the concert, scheduled for 30August, were directed to a web site run byPM’s Philippines subsidiary, in particularto a "Red List" set up especially for theconcert. This required providing personalcontact information in order to receivetickets and information, thereby handingPM the opportunity to send them promo-tional materials for cigarettes.
In July, PM was forced to drop itssponsorship of a concert by worldrenowned singer Alicia Keys inIndonesia, after it was criticized forengaging in cigarette marketing thatappealed to children and more notably,after Keys called for the sponsorship to bewithdrawn. Since the Philippines depart-ment of health was quoted as telling PMthat its involvement with the Eraserheadconcert was a violation of the country’stobacco regulations, the health commu-nity hoped for a similar, successful out-come.
It is interesting to note how PM canstill tout itself as reformed and fit to beconsidered socially responsible, when atthe same time it can be planning an eventwhich even the most hard bitten Manilataxi driver would tell you was strictly forthe young. Seventeen per cent of thecountry’s children aged 13 to 15 smokeand some 87,600 Filipinos die each yearfrom smoking-related diseases. If PM hasits way, reduction of these unhappystatistics may take a very long time.
SOUTH KOREA: SMOKE ON THE ROADSAs transnational tobacco companies havecontinued to increase market share inSouth Korea, Korean Tomorrow & Global(formerly Korean Tobacco & Ginseng) hasresorted to ever more creative tactics tostay one step ahead of the competition.The latest showdown has been on thenation’s motorways where the formerstate monopoly has ensured its logo andcolours are prominently displayed bydonating umbrellas, tables, seating andbins to motorway service areas. The high-tech bins are a particular innovation,composed of ash tray and trashcan, asthey light up at night to optimisevisibility.
For KT&G, the benefits are three-fold.While emblazoned with the KT&G logo,the facilities are not ostensibly advertisingKT&G brands, and thus effectively cir-cumvent current restrictions on tobaccoadvertising using billboards and the printmedia. Second, in exchange for thesedonations, the company has secured theright to sell its cigarette brands exclusivelyto motorway service users. The arrange-ment ensures competing brands areexcluded from a large number of distribu-tion outlets. Third, KT&G’s efforts toportray itself as a socially responsiblecompany are given a substantial boost.Service area donations are part of thecompany’s broader corporate socialresponsibility programme which suppliesequipment to schools, public buildingsand social welfare agencies.
All donations have been eagerlyreceived by the Korea ExpresswayCorporation (‘‘people who build connec-tions of happiness’’) which is responsiblefor maintaining the country’s road andservice amenities. Rapid growth of theeconomy since the 1980s has been accom-panied by a major expansion of thecountry’s transport system, with thedevelopment of motorways a key goal inrecent years. Growth has also been fuelledby the increased availability of motorvehicles, which has contributed greatlyto the mobility of an increasingly affluentpopulation. The expressway company hasthus welcomed KT&G’s ‘‘donations’’ aspart of its goal to provide ‘‘top qualityexpressway services’’. With around 4,000kilometres (2,485 miles) of national high-ways in South Korea by 2010, and over76,000 kilometres (47,200 miles) of pavedroads, KT&G stands to gain much mileagefrom this captive market.
Sungkyu Lee, Kelley LeeLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
South Korea: KT&G promotion at a motorwayservice station.
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