Big tobacco fights health warnings
Tobacco companies are remaining deadly silent about a wide range of newly-revealed diseases caused by their products — while at the same time making much noise in opposition to new packet health messages which would inform smokers about these dangers. A new landmark report just released by the US Surgeon-General shows for the first time that smoking causes diseases in almost every part of the body — with conclusive links to leukaemia and cancers of the cervix, kidney, pancreas and stomach; as well as abdominal aortic aneurysm, pneumonia, cataracts, periodontitis and more. "Many of these diseases are quite unknown to the vast majority of smokers", says Anne Jones, Chief Executive of ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) Australia. "But the tobacco companies are, as usual, silent about this latest report — while they've been very noisy and aggressive in their opposition to new improved cigarette packet health warnings that would help to better inform smokers about these dangers." Ms Jones said that the tobacco industry has lobbied hard for these new warnings to be weakened and delayed for as long as possible — though it is clear their consumers will be harmed as a result of ignorance about the many and varied harms caused by tobacco. "These companies have whinged to the government long and hard, not about the health harm, but about the economic harm they face from having to telling their consumers the whole truth. "They also protest that more should instead be done to prevent child smoking — but reaching children with these new messages is one of the strongest reasons for strengthening and fast-tracking the new warnings." More than a quarter of a million Australian schoolchildren are regular smokers. ASH says that if the tobacco companies were genuine and sincere in their concerns about children smoking they would offer to donate to anti-smoking campaigns the almost $19m a year they get from illegal tobacco sales to Australian children." Health and medical groups fear tobacco companies have won major concessions from the Federal Government to further delay and water down new graphic health warnings on cigarette packets. The warnings, originally proposed by the Government to take effect in mid-2004, have already been delayed until mid-2005 — and will possibly now be held off until the beginning of 2006 as a result of strong tobacco industry lobbying. A revised Regulation Impact Statement released last month by the Federal Treasury proposes manufacturers could be given until early 2006 before consumers would be alerted and warned about the link between smoking and several diseases. The revised statement also leaves open the possibility of reducing the proposed size of the mandatory warnings from 50 percent to 30 percent on the front of the packets. Health groups have criticised what they see as a back-down by the Government in the face of tobacco industry influence. "Smokers and potential smokers — especially children — deserve better protection", said Anne Jones. "If just one percent of the 19,000 lives lost prematurely to tobacco smoking in Australia could be saved by the increased quitting and reduced uptake strong effective warnings could produce, then for each month of delay more than 15 Australians are dying whose lives would otherwise be saved." Adds Andrew Ellerman of The Cancer Council Australia: "All smokers have basic consumer rights to truth and safety. Yet both have been denied and fought by tobacco interest groups to protect their own commercial self-interests." "We urge the government not to cave in to the interests of tobacco companies but to put public health and consumer rights first — without further delays", said Maurice Swanson of the National Heart Foundation of Australia.* * * http://www.ashaust.org.au