Tobacco companies declare: smoking causes cancer

GENEVA – Tobacco giants Philip Morris and British American Tobacco both stated explicitly yesterday that nicotine is addictive and that smoking causes a variety of diseases.

Speaking at separate press conferences during the World Health Organisation’s hearings on a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the two companies expressed their willingness to work with the world body in developing worldwide regulations governing the sale and marketing of tobacco products.  

“We are in step with the public health community,” said David Davies, vice president of corporate affairs, for Philip Morris Europe. “Smoking is addictive and causes disease,” he added.  

Davies said his company discouraged young people from smoking and supported “reasonable regulation that prohibits targeting minors and the monitoring of the industry’s marketing and promotional practices.”  

He added, however, that adult smokers should be informed of the dangers of tobacco, but still be allowed to smoke.  

British American Tobacco’s (BAT) head of science and regulation, Dr Christopher Proctor also agreed that nicotine was addictive and that cigarette smoking caused cancer.  

He said that BAT, which owned around 90 percent of all the cigarette brands   produced in South Africa, had no deliberate intention to increase the number of people who smoked. Rather, he said, his company wanted to be allowed to continue to advertise tobacco products in order to “keep people smoking our brand”.  

Dr Derek Yach, head of the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative, Dr Derek Yach refuted claims by the tobacco industry that it was “in step” with the public health community. “The only common ground that we are pleased to share with the tobacco industry is the floor of the conference centre here in Geneva,” he said.    

He added, “the public health point of view does not have common ground with the tobacco companies, because we have deeply different philosophies and goals.” Yach said the admission by the Philip Morris company that nicotine was addictive was not particularly noteworthy.  

“Philip Morris knew in the 1960s, the ’70s, the ’80s and the ’90s that nicotine was addictive. This is not a new statement,” said Yach. He added that one of the most effective ways to limit the growth of the tobacco industry was for the public health community to oppose the lobbying efforts of the tobacco companies that carefully targetted finance ministers, the treasury, and departments such as trade and agriculture.

Yach said the WHO was not proposing any prohibition of tobacco products. He said he believed that community mobilisation was the most effective means of curbing the harm caused by tobacco smoking. The “real needs” of farmers had to be considered as opposed to the benefits accruing to the big tobacco companies.

The WHO hearings on a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control end today (Friday) and will be followed by negotiations next week among members on what measures to adopt in a convention which the WHO hopes to implement by 2003. -Health-e News Service.

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