Tobacco should be excluded from free trade agreement
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《英国医生杂志》
EDITOR—The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030 tobacco will become the world's biggest single cause of death and disease, killing 10 million people each year.1
This week the European Union and the South American trading bloc Mercosur will continue negotiations towards a free trade agreement. We call on negotiators to place health before trade, by excluding tobacco from the agreement.
Every day, doctors see the deadly effects of tobacco. In the Doctors' Manifesto for Global Tobacco Control, more than 130 national medical associations united to call on governments and international bodies to take decisive action to tackle the tobacco pandemic.2 While trade liberalisation can bring benefits, free trade in tobacco leads to increased consumption.3 This inevitably leads to more tobacco related illness and death.
Tobacco is a uniquely harmful consumer product. Representatives of national medical associations from the European Union and the Mercosur region have written to the negotiators stating that tobacco products have no place in free trade agreements.
Excluding tobacco from free trade agreements would protect health. It is compatible with international law, which provides for other harmful products such as landmines to be exempted.4 Moreover, the World Trade Organisation has recognised that human health is important in the highest degree and that if necessary, governments may "put aside WTO commitments" to protect human life.5
Negotiators from the European Union and Mercosur must act to protect the future health generations by excluding tobacco from this agreement. Such action would not only show leadership but would set an important precedent for future trade agreements, whether bilateral, regional, or international.
Eduardo Bianco, representative
Sindicato Médico del Uruguay, Bulevar Artigas 1515, CP 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay
Sinéad Jones, director
Tobacco Control Resource Centre, BMA, Edinburgh EH2 1LL
Competing interests: None declared.
References
World Health Organization. The world health report 2003—shaping the future. Geneva: WHO, 2003. www.who.int/whr/en (accessed 27 Feb 2004).
Tobacco under the microscope: the doctors' manifesto for global tobacco control. British Medical Association Tobacco Control Resource Centre, 2002. www.doctorsmanifesto.org (accessed 27 Feb 2004).
World Bank. Curbing the epidemic. Governments and the economics of tobacco control. Washington, DC: World Bank, 1999. www1.worldbank.org/tobacco/cover2a.asp (accessed 27 Feb 2004).
World Trade Organisation, World Health Organization. WTO agreements and public health, a joint study by the WHO and WTO secretariat, 2002. Geneva: WHO. www.who.int/media/homepage/en/who_wto_e.pdf (accessed 27 Feb 2004).
World Trade Organisation, World Health Organization. WTO agreements and public health, a joint study by the WHO and WTO secretariat, 2002, press releases. Geneva: WHO. www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/who64 (accessed 27 Feb 2004).
This week the European Union and the South American trading bloc Mercosur will continue negotiations towards a free trade agreement. We call on negotiators to place health before trade, by excluding tobacco from the agreement.
Every day, doctors see the deadly effects of tobacco. In the Doctors' Manifesto for Global Tobacco Control, more than 130 national medical associations united to call on governments and international bodies to take decisive action to tackle the tobacco pandemic.2 While trade liberalisation can bring benefits, free trade in tobacco leads to increased consumption.3 This inevitably leads to more tobacco related illness and death.
Tobacco is a uniquely harmful consumer product. Representatives of national medical associations from the European Union and the Mercosur region have written to the negotiators stating that tobacco products have no place in free trade agreements.
Excluding tobacco from free trade agreements would protect health. It is compatible with international law, which provides for other harmful products such as landmines to be exempted.4 Moreover, the World Trade Organisation has recognised that human health is important in the highest degree and that if necessary, governments may "put aside WTO commitments" to protect human life.5
Negotiators from the European Union and Mercosur must act to protect the future health generations by excluding tobacco from this agreement. Such action would not only show leadership but would set an important precedent for future trade agreements, whether bilateral, regional, or international.
Eduardo Bianco, representative
Sindicato Médico del Uruguay, Bulevar Artigas 1515, CP 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay
Sinéad Jones, director
Tobacco Control Resource Centre, BMA, Edinburgh EH2 1LL
Competing interests: None declared.
References
World Health Organization. The world health report 2003—shaping the future. Geneva: WHO, 2003. www.who.int/whr/en (accessed 27 Feb 2004).
Tobacco under the microscope: the doctors' manifesto for global tobacco control. British Medical Association Tobacco Control Resource Centre, 2002. www.doctorsmanifesto.org (accessed 27 Feb 2004).
World Bank. Curbing the epidemic. Governments and the economics of tobacco control. Washington, DC: World Bank, 1999. www1.worldbank.org/tobacco/cover2a.asp (accessed 27 Feb 2004).
World Trade Organisation, World Health Organization. WTO agreements and public health, a joint study by the WHO and WTO secretariat, 2002. Geneva: WHO. www.who.int/media/homepage/en/who_wto_e.pdf (accessed 27 Feb 2004).
World Trade Organisation, World Health Organization. WTO agreements and public health, a joint study by the WHO and WTO secretariat, 2002, press releases. Geneva: WHO. www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/who64 (accessed 27 Feb 2004).