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Smoke-free, statewide [Massachusetts, USA] - Boston extended its ban on restaurant smoking to bars less than a week ago, and already the pressure is on the Legislature to do what it has never mustered the gumption to do: ban smoking in workplaces statewide. (editorial, Boston Globe, 11 May 2003)

Smoke screen [UK] - How the tobacco industry makes a packet - And thousands die from passive smoke at work - Medical experts and workers want legal controls on passive smoking at work. The tobacco and hospitality industries do not - and are using lies, junk science and deceit to back their case. (Hazards, May 2003)

Private railways in Japan launch total smoking bans - Private railways in eastern Japan removed designated smoking areas and enforced total smoking bans at stations Thursday as a health promotion law cracking down on passive smoking came into effect. (Mainichi Shimbun [Japan], 1 May 2003)

Corporate Accountability Activists Denounce Virginia’s Granting of Corporate Charter to Licensed to Kill - Incorporation of Tobacco Company Demonstrates Need for States to Place People Before Profits - Corporate accountability activists are denouncing the decision by the Commonwealth of Virginia to incorporate a new company, Licensed to Kill, Inc. (www.licensedtokill.biz). As stated in its articles of incorporation, the company’s purpose is “the manufacture and marketing of tobacco products in a way that kills over 400,000 Americans and 4.5 million other persons worldwide.” (Infact, 17 Apr. 2003)

Queensland workers call for end to delays over smokefree pubs and clubs [Australia] - Union, health groups urge expo delegates to protect staff from dangers of second hand smoke (Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union, 13 Apr. 2003)

In the green dock: corporate targets [sub-section of article entitled "Asda 'exploiting loophole' for store space"] - FoE [Friends of the Earth] is also targeting some of Britain's largest listed firms, which it claims are putting profits before people and the environment; it has bought shares in 18 publicly quoted firms and has been questioning boards about the impact their businesses are having on the environment. The campaign, to run through the summer, started this week when FoE accused Rio Tinto of human rights abuses and environmental destruction in Indonesia at its AGM. FoE is also pushing for UK law changes requiring firms to take account of their wider responsibilities and offer affected communities redress or compensation when they fail to do so. The 18 firms targeted...: British American Tobacco (Activities in Burma and use of pesticides in Brazil); Associated British Ports; Rio Tinto (Destructive mining activities in Indonesia); Shell (Environmental damage in the Philippines; South Africa, Nigeria and US); Barclays (Rainforest destruction in Indonesia); BP (Impact of the Baku to Ceyan Russian pipeline); Anglo American (Mining in South America and Africa); BAE Systems; Amec (Subsidiary Spie has a construction contract for BP's Baku-Ceyan pipeline); Premier Oil; Balfour Beatty; P&O; HSBC (Oil industry involvement in Sudan); Tesco; British Airways; Sainsbury; Safeway; BAA. (Julia Finch & Neil Hume, Guardian [UK], 19 Apr. 2003)

World Health Organization websites:

An introduction to the WHO inquiry on tobacco industry influence (World Health Organization) {summary available in···français···arabic···chinese···russian} 

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (World Health Organization) {···español···français···arabic···chinese···russian} 

Tobacco: Health impact (World Health Organization)

Other websites:

Airspace Action on Smoking & Health (British Columbia, Canada)

Company Policies for EEO [Equal Employment Opportunities] in Food, Beverages and Tobacco Manufacturing (International Labour Organization)

ECLT Foundation: Addressing the challenge of child labour in tobacco growing

Economics of Tobacco Control (World Bank)

Framework Convention Alliance: an international alliance of NGOs committed to seeing a strong and effective Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

German Slave Labor website (Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll law firm)

INFACT's Tobacco Industry Campaign

Integrity in Science: The Integrity in Science project seeks to safeguard science and the public welfare from the corruptive effects of industry’s influence (Integrity in Science, a project of The Center for Science in the Public Interest)

Issue Library: Tobacco - Tobacco, Free Trade and Globalization (CorpWatch)

IWR 2001: International Weeks of Resistance to Tobacco Transnationals 2001 

Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT)

Tobacco Scam: How Big Tobacco uses and abuses the restaurant industry (a project of Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco)

Other materials:

2003:

Smoke-free, statewide [Massachusetts, USA] - Boston extended its ban on restaurant smoking to bars less than a week ago, and already the pressure is on the Legislature to do what it has never mustered the gumption to do: ban smoking in workplaces statewide. (editorial, Boston Globe, 11 May 2003)

Private railways in Japan launch total smoking bans - Private railways in eastern Japan removed designated smoking areas and enforced total smoking bans at stations Thursday as a health promotion law cracking down on passive smoking came into effect. (Mainichi Shimbun [Japan], 1 May 2003)

Smoke screen [UK] - How the tobacco industry makes a packet - And thousands die from passive smoke at work - Medical experts and workers want legal controls on passive smoking at work. The tobacco and hospitality industries do not - and are using lies, junk science and deceit to back their case. (Hazards, May 2003)

In the green dock: corporate targets [sub-section of article entitled "Asda 'exploiting loophole' for store space"] - FoE [Friends of the Earth] is also targeting some of Britain's largest listed firms, which it claims are putting profits before people and the environment; it has bought shares in 18 publicly quoted firms and has been questioning boards about the impact their businesses are having on the environment. The campaign, to run through the summer, started this week when FoE accused Rio Tinto of human rights abuses and environmental destruction in Indonesia at its AGM. FoE is also pushing for UK law changes requiring firms to take account of their wider responsibilities and offer affected communities redress or compensation when they fail to do so. The 18 firms targeted...: British American Tobacco (Activities in Burma and use of pesticides in Brazil); Associated British Ports; Rio Tinto (Destructive mining activities in Indonesia); Shell (Environmental damage in the Philippines; South Africa, Nigeria and US); Barclays (Rainforest destruction in Indonesia); BP (Impact of the Baku to Ceyan Russian pipeline); Anglo American (Mining in South America and Africa); BAE Systems; Amec (Subsidiary Spie has a construction contract for BP's Baku-Ceyan pipeline); Premier Oil; Balfour Beatty; P&O; HSBC (Oil industry involvement in Sudan); Tesco; British Airways; Sainsbury; Safeway; BAA. (Julia Finch & Neil Hume, Guardian [UK], 19 Apr. 2003)

Corporate Accountability Activists Denounce Virginia’s Granting of Corporate Charter to Licensed to Kill - Incorporation of Tobacco Company Demonstrates Need for States to Place People Before Profits - Corporate accountability activists are denouncing the decision by the Commonwealth of Virginia to incorporate a new company, Licensed to Kill, Inc. (www.licensedtokill.biz). As stated in its articles of incorporation, the company’s purpose is “the manufacture and marketing of tobacco products in a way that kills over 400,000 Americans and 4.5 million other persons worldwide.” (Infact, 17 Apr. 2003)

Queensland workers call for end to delays over smokefree pubs and clubs [Australia] - Union, health groups urge expo delegates to protect staff from dangers of second hand smoke (Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union, 13 Apr. 2003)

Passive smoking at work: the global pressure mounts - Over the last few years, the pressure has been mounting around the world for controls on passive smoking in the workplace, often led by trade unions. (Rory O’Neill and Owen Tudor, Risks, 9 Apr. 2003)

Passive smoking at work kills three people every day [UK] (Trades Union Congress, 8 Apr. 2003)

Global cancer rates could increase by 50% to 15 million by 2020 -...Tobacco consumption remains the most important avoidable cancer risk. In the 20th century, approximately 100 million people died world-wide from tobacco-associated diseases (cancer, chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease and stroke). Half of regular smokers are killed by the habit. (World Health Organization, 3 Apr. 2003)

Tobacco companies sue state, saying ads ``vilify'' industry [USA] - Two of the nation's largest tobacco companies are suing California, alleging the state's anti-smoking TV ads unfairly "vilify" the tobacco industry..The lawsuit, filed late Tuesday in a Sacramento federal court by tobacco companies R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard, alleges the state's ads unfairly influence potential jurors who may be asked to rule on tobacco-related lawsuits. (Jessica Brice, Associated Press, 2 Apr. 2003)

Protesters demand that BAT quit Burma - Fifty Kenneth Clarkes gathered in London yesterday to demand that British American Tobacco close the factory it jointly owns with the military regime in Burma. (Guardian [UK], 27 Mar. 2003)

The UK Corporate Sustainability Reporting Awards [refers to The Co-operative Bank, Shell,  BT Group, Risk and Policy Analysts Ltd., Unilever, Scottish Power, Canary Wharf Group, Best Foot Forward Ltd, FRC Group, Co-operative Insurance Society, Traidcraft, British American Tobacco] (Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 25 Mar. 2003)

Philip Morris ordered to pay $10.1 billion in ``light'' cigarette suit [USA] - A judge ordered Philip Morris USA on Friday to pay $10.1 billion for misleading smokers into believing its "light" cigarettes are less harmful than regular labels. (AP, in San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Mar. 2003)

US seeks $289bn in tobacco claim - The US Justice Department is suing the world's leading tobacco companies for $289bn (£184.5bn) of their profits for the alleged fraudulent marketing of cigarettes. A court filing by the US government claims the companies lied about the link with cancer and the addictiveness of cigarettes. (BBC News, 19 Mar. 2003)

Evidence 'suppressed' on benefits of smoking ban [UK] - Evidence of thousands of lives could be saved each year by outlawing smoking at work has been suppressed by the Government because it fears a ban will prove too expensive for bars, clubs and hotels, anti-smoking campaigners claimed yesterday. (Marie Woolf, Independent [UK], 19 Mar. 2003)

Smoking ban good for hospitality workers' health - union [New Zealand] - A smoking ban in bars, casinos and restaurants would protect hospitality industry workers from proven harm, their union said today. (NZPA, 19 Mar. 2003)

Burma: Why the Boycott Continues -...Some 300 transnational companies are active in Burma, in direct or indirect partnership with the military (the list is available on the ICFTU web site). The IUF campaigned persistently for PepsiCo and the French-based Accor hotel group to disinvest. We will be stepping up the pressure on British-American Tobacco (BAT), the last significant TNC in our sectors to profit from repression in Burma. (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 14 Mar. 2003)

TOBACCO: U.S. Newspaper, Columnist Criticize Washington Over Treaty - The New York Times on Saturday called on U.S. President George W. Bush's administration to sign on to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control...Syndicated columnist Derrick Jackson called U.S. resistance to the treaty a "singularly obvious" attempt at "sabotage" and pointed to political funds the tobacco industry gave in the most recent U.S. elections..."Philip Morris, the world's biggest exporter of cigarettes, alone paid $3.4 million to buy influence, with 80 percent of its contributions going to Republicans or the Republican Party" (UN Wire, 10 Mar. 2003)

BURMA: Tobacco Giant under Pressure for Joint Venture - Ahead of its mid-April annual general meeting, British American Tobacco (BAT) is facing increasing pressure from human rights groups in Asia and elsewhere to withdraw from a joint-venture partnership with the Burmese (Myanmar) military regime. (Bob Burton, Inter Press Service, 5 Mar. 2003)

US EPA proposes cancer guidelines for children - Infants and toddlers have 10 times the risk of cancer from hazardous chemicals than adults do, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said this week in its first guidelines that define the greater risks that children face...Chemicals also can affect babies more. They include vinyl chloride - a gas used in making PVC or polyvinyl chloride - diethylnitrosamine - found in tobacco smoke - and the insecticide DDT. (Maggie Fox, Reuters, 5 Mar. 2003) 

Corporate Bill for Slavery - The federal class-action lawsuits [in USA]...seek corporate accountability for profits made from slavery, unspecified damages and the establishment of a fund for the healthcare, housing, education and economic development needs of African-Americans. They also want a full investigation of the financial underpinnings of slavery...On the other side of the lawsuits are seventeen powerful corporations. They include financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and FleetBoston; insurance companies (e.g., Aetna and New York Life); railroads (Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and CSX); tobacco companies (R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson); and a textile manufacturer (WestPoint Stevens). (John S. Friedman, The Nation, 20 Feb. 2003)

TOBACCO: WHO Asks Film, Fashion Industries To Stop Glamorizing Smoking - The World Health Organization yesterday called on the film and fashion industries to stop glamorizing smoking, urging the industries in a statement to "stop being used as vehicles of death and disease." (UN Wire, 19 Feb. 2003)

TOBACCO: WHO Begins Final Talks On Control Treaty (UN Wire, 18 Feb. 2003)

Tobacco: WHO Urges Higher Taxes, Advertising Controls In Poor States (UN Wire, 5 Feb. 2003)

Toxic Chemical Study Sounds Warning for Children - The most extensive study of the toxic chemicals to which Americans are exposed has found encouraging evidence that levels of lead, pesticides and tobacco related chemicals have declined over the past decade. But the report, released last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offered worrying evidence that children are more exposed than adults to a range of toxic chemicals. (J.R. Pegg, Environment News Service, 4 Feb. 2003)

Flawed anti-smoking laws endanger workers' health [Australia] - Inadequate anti-smoking legislation is threatening the health of thousands of Queensland workers and urgently needs to be amended, Queensland Council of Unions Assistant Secretary Chris Barrett said today. (Queensland Council of Unions, 28 Jan. 2003)

TOBACCO: Talks On Anti-Smoking Campaign Funding Set For February - The European Union will host a meeting Feb. 3-4 in Brussels to discuss how international donors can help developing countries finance anti-smoking campaigns. (UN Wire, 10 Jan. 2003)

2002:

TOBACCO: EU Health Ministers Ban Tobacco Ads - European Union health ministers yesterday decided to prohibit tobacco advertising on the radio, in newspapers and magazines and on the Internet by 2005 and in Europe-wide sporting events -- such as Formula One car races and soccer championships -- by 2006. The new ban aims to cut smoking-related diseases and prevent tobacco companies from luring new smokers to replace the 500,000 Europeans who die each year from smoking-related diseases. (UN Wire, 3 Dec. 2002)

Tobacco: An enormous threat to development - The development community must recognize the enormous threat to human health, life and sustainable development posed by tobacco use and consider it a high priority on the development agenda. (International Development Research Centre, 27 Nov. 2002)

Smoking stubbed out at Philip Morris [Australia] -...Smoking in every [Philip Morris] office nationwide was banned from September 16 with smokers shunted into ventilated indoor smoking rooms. (Jen Kelly, Herald Sun [Australia], 26 Nov. 2002)

TOBACCO: European Parliament Approves Advertising Ban (UN Wire, 21 Nov. 2002)

California's Health, Labor and Business Leaders Confirm 8-Year Success of Smoke-Free Workplaces (Business Wire, 20 Nov. 2002)

Union [Northern Territory branch of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union] backs smoking ban in clubs and pubs [Australia] - The union has joined health groups and others in a push to ban smoking in such venues Australia-wide by the end of 2003. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 6 Nov. 2002)

Tobacco Companies Pressed to Halt Youth Smoking Prevention Campaigns - The world's leading cancer, heart, and lung associations have called on the major tobacco companies [including Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, and Japan Tobacco International] to immediately halt their youth anti-smoking campaigns which they said not only have failed to reduce smoking but may actually be encouraging young people to smoke. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 25 Oct. 2002)

US Extremism Threatens to Derail World’s First Public Health Treaty - NGOs Urge Negotiators to Resist US Attempts to Dramatically Weaken Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Consider US Track Record of Not Signing onto International Agreements -...“The US is putting all of its political muscle into blocking the progress of the overwhelming majority of countries-in effect, doing Philip Morris’s dirty work..." (Infact, 22 Oct. 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO Says Annual Death Toll To Reach 8.4 Million By 2020 (UN Wire, 16 Oct. 2002) 

International Tobacco Treaty: Public Health Advocates Face an Uphill Battle: How Bad Does it Have to be Before it's Worse than Nothing? -...Not surprisingly the tobacco industry and its client states such as Germany, Japan and the United States have been doing as much as they can to delay, dissipate and divert any measures that look as though they may be effective. [refers to Philip Morris, BAT - British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International] (Clive Bates, Director of ASH - Action on Smoking and Health [UK], special to CorpWatch, 15 Oct. 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO Opens Treaty Talks With Revised Annual Death Toll - After revising its estimate of annual tobacco-related deaths worldwide from 4 million to 4.9 million, the World Health Organization today opened a two-week round of talks in Geneva on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, renewing its appeals for an advertising ban, stiff tax increases and tough restrictions on secondhand smoke as the best methods to reduce the death toll. (UN Wire, 15 Oct. 2002)

Workers demand smoke-free offices [UK] - Employees are six to one in favour of banning smoking at work, claims a group calling on the government to bring in new laws. (BBC News, 5 Oct. 2002)

Jury awards former smoker $28 billion in punitive damages [USA] - Philip Morris Inc. says it will ask a court to set aside or reduce a record $28 billion in punitive damages awarded to a cancer-stricken 64-year-old former smoker. (Gary Gentile, Associated Press, 5 Oct. 2002)

Boston Considers Full Ban on Workplace Smoking [USA] - Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has announced his support for a proposed ban on smoking in all Boston workplaces, including restaurants and bars. (HR Daily News, 27 Sep. 2002)

Judge links US tobacco lawsuits - A federal court judge has unleashed an ambitious campaign against the US tobacco industry by certifying a nationwide punitive-damage class-action suit against several cigarette makers. (Jonathan Moules, Financial Times, 21 Sep. 2002)

Activists Urge U.S. to Prioritize Health Over Profit at Hearing on Global Tobacco Treaty -...Throughout the negotiations, the US has been sharply criticized for espousing treaty positions that benefit Philip Morris and other giant tobacco corporations at the expense of public health. (Infact, 20 Sep. 2002)

Current List of Annual Company Meeting Statements Made by Socially Responsible Shareholders [includes Alltel - Sexual Orientation Discrimination; Eastman Chemical Company - Health Risks of Cigarette Filters; Gannett - American Indians / Diversity Reporting; Hasbro - Sweatshops (Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, 10 Sep. 2002)

TOBACCO: Southeast Asian Countries Call For Total Ad Ban Representatives from 10 Southeast Asian countries meeting in Bangkok yesterday called for tougher tobacco regulations, including an advertising ban. (UN Wire, 5 Sep. 2002)

New legal campaign for smokefree space in hospitality industry [Australia] - A Western Sydney pub patron is about to take on his local pub in a campaign for smokefree space. (Australian Liquor, Hospitality & Miscellaneous Workers Union, 3 Sep. 2002) 

TRADE: New Study Examines How WTO Agreements Affect Public Health - Public health must be taken into consideration in the drafting of trade rules, according to a joint study released today by the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization...The 171-page study, WTO Agreements and Public Health, says nations should be able to restrict imports and exports when the health of its people or wildlife is affected. It examines issues including infectious disease control, food safety, tobacco, environment, access to drugs, health services, food security and biotechnology. (UN Wire, 22 Aug. 2002)

Days of smoking in front bar numbered [Australia] - The smoker's front bar is under threat, with the State Government announcing plans for more limits on smoking. Health Minister Lea Stevens yesterday announced a taskforce to prepare for "strong tobacco-control legislation" but stopped short of using the word "ban". The taskforce has been charged with advising on ways to "protect staff and patrons from exposure to tobacco smoke" in hotels and gaming venues. (Jill Pengelley, Advertiser [Adelaide, South Australia], 7 Aug. 2002)

Campaign Promotes Smoke-Free Environments [USA] -...Prof. Glantz, a tobacco researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, yesterday announced a new Web site, "TobaccoScam," to counter what he calls a 20-year campaign by the tobacco industry to use the restaurant industry as a stalking horse to defeat anti-smoking rules. But Prof. Glantz's attempts to get restaurant trade magazines to accept ads for the site were not entirely successful...the publications changed their minds after Philip Morris sent e-mail messages asking whether they would be running the ads and suggesting that the company's own ad decisions would be affected by the answer. (John Schwartz, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2002)

TOBACCO: Smuggling Conference Agrees On Goals, Not On Companies' Role - An international conference on tobacco smuggling ended yesterday with participants calling it a breakthrough in cooperation between law and health officials, but also with complaints that tobacco companies' presence at the forum was inappropriate since the industry is widely believed to be part of the problem. (Jim Wurst, UN Wire, 2 Aug. 2002)

Big Tobacco prepared to fight smoke free workplace laws - The big tobacco companies are prepared to put a lot of resources into fighting unions who want to push for smoke-free workplaces because they know they will lose several billion dollars in cigarette sales if the union movement wins. (Australian Liquor, Hospitality & Miscellaneous Workers Union, 26 July 2002)

WHO Drafts Treaty to Ban Cigarette Ads Internationally -...With a May 2003 deadline, the WHO pact would require all signatories to draw up legislation to prevent and reduce tobacco consumption, nicotine addiction and exposure to tobacco smoke. (New York Times article summarised by Business for Social Responsibility, 22 July 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO Releases Draft Treaty - The World Health Organization yesterday released the text of the draft Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which will be negotiated by WHO member countries Oct. 14 to 25 in Geneva. (UN Wire, 17 July 2002)

World Health Organization Releases Draft Tobacco Treaty Text Ahead of October Negotiations - The World Health Organization (WHO) today released the draft of a treaty text which will provide the basis for the final stage of the negotiations of a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). (World Health Organization, 16 July 2002)

Trying to clear away the corporate smokescreen - How can a company whose products kill millions be considered socially responsible? That is the key question that faces British American Tobacco as it publishes its first social report this week. (Alison Maitland, Financial Times, 4 July 2002)

Tobacco 'Social Responsibility' Report - Asia-Pacific health and consumer groups have dismissed this week's release of the tobacco giant British American Tobacco's (BAT) first global 'social responsibility' report, one that avoids acknowledging the addictive nature of nicotine. (Bob Burton, Inter Press Service, 4 July 2002)

Smoke could ruin child's fertility - Smoking while pregnant appears to put the future fertility of any female children at risk. (BBC News, 3 July 2002)

Smoking 'damages IVF chances' - Men who smoke reduce their chances of fathering a child through assisted reproduction, research suggests. (BBC News, 2 July 2002)

{···français} Enfants exploités - Plus de 211 millions d'enfants âgés de 5 à 14 ans sont contraints de travailler...Les entreprises multinationales ne sont pas les dernières à profiter de cette exploitation des mineurs. Entre autres, celles du tabac (Philip Morris, Altadis), de la banane (Chiquita, Del Monte) et du cacao (Cargill). Au Malawi, par exemple, dont l'industrie du tabac est le premier employeur, des dizaines de milliers d'enfants sont exploités pour la récolte et le séchage des feuilles de tabac. En Equateur, des enfants de 7 à 8 ans travaillent dans les champs de bananes douze heures par jour. En Côte d'Ivoire, premier producteur mondial de cacao, des milliers d'enfants-esclaves seraient utilisés pour le travail dans les plantations. (Ignacio Ramonet, Le Monde diplomatique, juillet 2002)

RJR hit with $15M in damages [USA] - Federal judge slaps tobacco firm R.J. Reynolds with $15M in punitive damages in smoker case - A federal judge ordered cigarette maker R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. Friday to pay $15 million in punitive damages to a smoker whose legs were amputated, the latest in a string of multimillion-dollar awards against the industry. In setting the punitive damages, U.S. District Court Judge John Lungstrum called RJR's concealment of the addictive nature of tobacco "particularly nefarious." (Reuters, 21 June 2002)

Jury Awards $5.5 Million in a Secondhand Smoke Case [USA] - The nation's biggest tobacco companies [Philip Morris, R. J. Reynolds, Lorillard and Brown & Williamson] suffered their first defeat in a secondhand smoke case this week, and they said yesterday that they would use the setback to challenge a critical ruling governing the $349 million settlement they struck with the nation's flight attendants nearly five years ago (Greg Winter, New York Times, 20 June 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO Implicates Second-Hand Smoke In Several Kinds Of Cancer - Second-hand tobacco smoke can cause a wide variety of cancers, a group of experts working for the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer said yesterday..."this is the first time a group of independent scientists have reviewed all the evidence and said there is no question it is a cause of lung cancer" (UN Wire, 20 June 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO, Others Campaign Against Sports Ads - The World Health Organization and other health advocates launched a campaign yesterday, two days ahead of tomorrow's World No Tobacco Day, to dissociate tobacco and sports, charging the link between the two has led to dramatic increases in smoking rates. (UN Wire, 30 May 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO Seeks Tougher Asian Laws To Protect Children - Asian children are taking up smoking in ever-larger numbers, and countries in the region must implement comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising and sales in order to save lives, the World Health Organization said today (UN Wire, 28 May 2002)

FIFA Bags Top Health Award: World Cup To Be Tobacco Free - The World Health Organization’s highest tobacco control award will be given to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in recognition of its tobacco control work, culminating in its decision to declare the 2002 World Cup tobacco free..."Since 1986, FIFA and indeed the other sponsor companies have rejected tobacco companies from the pool of official sponsors of the World Cup or any other FIFA competition..." said Keith Cooper, FIFA Director of Communications. (World Health Organization, 23 May 2002)

Union wants smoking banned in London pubs and restaurants [UK] -...Paul Kenny [London Regional Secretary of GMB union] said that the union's members were falling ill due to second-hand smoke. (This is Ealing [UK], 10 May 2002)

TOBACCO: Small Amount Of Smoke Harms Children's Learning Ability: Study - Small amounts of second-hand tobacco smoke have been found to measurably damage children's ability to learn, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center researchers announced this week (UN Wire, 9 May 2002)

Cancer patients 'keep on smoking' - Even patients whose cancer has probably been caused by tobacco cannot manage to give up the habit, research [at University of Michigan] suggests...Cigarettes may cause 85% of head and neck cancers (BBC News, 5 May 2002)

TOBACCO: Hong Kong Launches Anti-Smoking Campaign -...Efforts to curb smoking are also taking place in mainland China despite the failure of efforts by attorney Tong Lihua to sue the government's State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and 24 firms under its jurisdiction for failing to carry health warnings on their Web sites...he is not currently considering filing suits against U.S. firms because a lack of punitive damage provisions in Chinese law would make such cases of little value. (UN Wire, 5 May 2002)

Shredded: Justice for BAT - The latest major blow against the tobacco industry has been struck in Australia. There, a judge has concluded that British American Tobacco (BAT) has engaged in a massive document-destruction scheme intentionally designed to thwart smokers or former smokers from successfully bringing suit against the company. (Robert Weissman, Multinational Monitor, May 2002)

Tobacco Giant's New Smoking Gun [Australia]: A worker who complained about smoking in her workplace has been sacked from a call centre [contracted to call centre operator, Addecco] operated for cigarette giant British American Tobacco. (Workers Online, 19 Apr. 2002)

Tasmanian hospitality workers back critical review of anti-smoking laws [Australia]: Tasmanian hospitality workers working in gaming areas at the casinos, pubs and clubs want bans on cigarette smoking because they view the existing situation as an unacceptable threat to their health (Liquor, Hospitality & Miscellaneous Workers Union, 17 Apr. 2002)

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS: Agencies Warn Of Risk To Children - A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Environment Agency says that up to 40 percent of global disease cases caused by environmental hazards are estimated to impact children under the age of 5 [refers to risks including synthetic chemicals, polluted indoor & outdoor air, road traffic, contaminated food & water, contaminants in toys, environmental tobacco smoke] (UN Wire, 16 Apr. 2002)

Union urges workplace smoke ban [Australia]: Research by the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union, with the Victorian Cancer Council, has found smoke-exposed workers suffer significant health problems. (Kristine Gough, The Australian, 15 Apr. 2002)

BAT must pay damages to Australian smoker: A dying 51-year-old mother of four has become the first cancer victim outside the US successfully to sue an international tobacco group, after an Australian judge threw out British American Tobacco's defence because it destroyed documents. (Virginia Marsh & Nikki Tait, Financial Times, 11 Apr. 2002) 

TOBACCO: FIFA Denounces Link To Industry, Upholds WHO Agreement - Soccer's world governing body, FIFA, reacted strongly to news Thursday that South Korean tobacco producer Korea Tobacco and Ginseng Corporation plans to introduce a line of cigarettes to promote the World Cup this summer..."Tobacco has no place in football nor in any other sport, and any involvement of any tobacco company is entirely unwanted and actively rejected." (UN Wire, 1 Apr. 2002)

TOBACCO: Treaty Moving Ahead, Difficulties Remain, Talks Chairman Says - The chairman of World Health Organization talks on a proposed Framework Convention on Tobacco Control said yesterday that negotiations are moving ahead but that compensation for victims and farmers and a proposed advertising ban remain major points of contention...The WHO says tobacco-related diseases kill 4 million people annually and that the figure could reach 10 million by 2030, with 70 percent of deaths in developing countries (UN Wire, 26 Mar. 2002)

TOBACCO: NGOs Accuse Companies Of Devious Tactics Regarding Treaty - As World Health Organization tobacco talks continue in Geneva, nongovernmental organizations yesterday accused international tobacco companies of using devious tactics to undermine support in developing countries for the proposed Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. (UN Wire, 21 Mar. 2002)

Legal Action Intensifies Against BC [British Columbia, Canada] Labour Minister: "De Facto Discrimination" Charged - Legal action has intensified against the BC Government over Labour Minister Graham Bruce’s secondhand smoke regulation 3/2002 introduced in January. In a document released today, the Labour Minister is charged with “de facto discrimination” which “authorizes and condones the poisoning of hospitality workers by secondhand smoke”. (Airspace Action on Smoking & Health, 19 Mar. 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO Calls For Globalized Litigation As Treaty Talks Resume - The World Health Organization today called for a global approach to legal action against the tobacco industry as the agency opened its fourth round of talks on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Geneva. The U.N. agency released a report citing litigation already being taken, particularly in the United States, for harm caused by smoking...The WHO said that pioneering cases in Australia, Norway, Bangladesh, India, Saudi Arabia and India "showed the potential for litigation to advance tobacco control" (UN Wire, 18 Mar. 2002)

Tobacco Industry Accused of Engaging Children [Malawi]: The Malawi tobacco industry has come under renewed pressure to stop using child labour and to make way for other more economic crops in the country. (Child Labour News Service, 15 Mar. 2002)

Philip Morris Accused of Marketing Faulty Filters: American scientists accused international tobacco giant Philip Morris Inc. on Tuesday of marketing defective filters on cigarettes for 40 years. Researchers at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, said the filters release potentially harmful filter fibers and carbon particles while people smoke. (Reuters, 12 Mar. 2002)

CHILD MORTALITY: Remove Lead From Gasoline, Conference Delegates Say - The First International Conference on Environmental Risks to Children's Health ended today in Bangkok with more than 300 participants calling on Asian governments to remove lead from gasoline and reduce tobacco smoke in public areas and private homes. (UN Wire, 7 Mar. 2002)

Environmental Hazards Kill at least 3 Million Children Aged under 5 Every Year: Opening Today of Bangkok Conference Marks New Initiative to Fight Child Mortality and Morbidity linked to Unhealthy Environments -...topics such as children’s exposure to lead, mercury, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants and other chemicals will be discussed. The effects of environmental tobacco smoke, radiation, climate change, and food quality and safety on children will also be discussed. (World Health Organization, 3 Mar. 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO [World Health Organization] Chief Calls For Tighter Controls In Europe - Smoking reduction efforts have met significant political and economic barriers, "but most important of all, there are obstacles put up by the tobacco companies," Danzon [WHO's European director, Marc Danzon] said. (UN Wire, 19 Feb. 2002)

New project to cleanse tobacco and bidi industry of child labour [Bangladesh] (United News of Bangladesh, posted on Child Labour News Service, 15 Feb. 2002)

Children languishing in hazardous units [India]: Even five years after the Tamil Nadu Government spotted hundreds of child labourers, most of them continue to toil in hazardous industries...In the hazardous industries particularly in the match factories in Virudhunagar district and beedi units in Vellore district, children continue to be employed but they work from their homes. (Hindu [India], posted on Child Labour News Service, 15 Feb. 2002)

Christian Aid calls for global regulation of tobacco industry: Brazilian tobacco farmer sues BAT subsidiary. New report from Christian Aid raises concerns over the safety of growing tobacco. A tobacco farmer who claims he has been made permanently ill as a result of growing tobacco is taking Souza Cruz, the Brazilian subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT), to court. (Christian Aid, 4 Feb. 2002)

Rapid Appraisal of Child Labour in the Tobacco Industry: Case Studies in Two Ilocos Provinces [Philippines] - Philip Morris International and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) commissioned PARTNERS International to undertake a baseline study of child labour in selected tobacco growing areas of the Ilocos provinces (Partners International, Feb. 2002)

Lobbyist Who Blasted WHO Initiative Failed To Divulge Interests: An official with the World Health Organization criticized a British columnist Wednesday for attacking the WHO's proposed tobacco control convention without revealing his ties to a Japanese cigarette maker. (UN Wire, 25 Jan. 2002)

Proposed smoking bans come under fire [Australia]: Under proposed laws, an estimated 5,000 hotels, clubs, bingo halls and nightclubs across Victoria would have to set aside smoke-free areas by September 1...Quit Victoria, the Australian Medical Association Victoria and the state's hospitality union said the proposed laws were a step forward but did not go far enough. (Susan Murdoch, AAP, in f2network, 16 Jan. 2002)

Trade and Trade-offs on Tobacco: When it came to AIDS drugs, the Bush administration saw that intellectual property rules needed to be modified. In the case of tobacco, it has a few more weeks to see the light. In March the World Health Organization will convene its next tobacco-control negotiations. (Sebastian Mallaby, Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2002)

Walden Asset Management Announces Shareholder Advocacy Actions for 2002 [includes shareholder resolutions on the following issues & companies: Climate Change - Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco and Occidental Petroleum; Mercury Pollution - J.C. Penney and HCA; Indigenous Peoples' Rights - Lehman Brothers; Sweatshop/Vendor Standards - TJX, Kohl's, Delphi Automotive, Hasbro, Sears and Lowes; Health Risk Caused by Cigarette Filters - Eastman Chemical; Drug Accessibility - Abbott, Bristol-Myers Squibb; impact of drilling in environmentally sensitive areas - BP Amoco] (Walden Asset Management, 4 Jan. 2002)

2001:

Unions call for gov time frame on smoke bans [Australia]: Melbourne's Crown Casino staff will consider industrial action tomorrow if the Victorian government does not guarantee a ban on smoking in all gaming areas by July next year..."They're playing with the health and lives of young workers"..."In no other area have governments, especially the Victorian government, been as lax about workplace health and safety." (AAP, 12 Dec. 2001) 

Corporations Behaving Badly: The Ten Worst Corporations of 2001 [Abbott Laboratories, Argenbright Security, Bayer, Coca Cola, Enron, ExxonMobil, Philip Morris, Sara Lee, Southern Co. and Wal-Mart] (Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, Multinational Monitor, Dec. 2001)

US socially-screened investments grow despite market slump: Assets in socially-screened investment portfolios climbed 36 percent to $2.01 trillion from 1999 to 2001 despite a slumping stock market, the Social Investment Forum said this week. The Forum said that tobacco is the most widely-used screen. Others that are popular with social investors include weapons, human rights, employment/equality, alcohol, environmental and gambling. (Reuters, 30 Nov. 2001)

TOBACCO: Treaty Talks End Without Ad Ban Agreement; More World Health Organization-backed talks on an international tobacco treaty ended today in Geneva without agreement on several controversial issues, including a global ban on cigarette advertising, which will be taken up when discussions resume in March...Anti-tobacco activists continued to accuse Washington of kowtowing to powerful tobacco makers. (UN Wire, 29 Nov. 2001)

TOBACCO: Disagreement Reigns At Treaty Talks (UN Wire, 26 Nov. 2001)

EU Charged with Serving Interests of Big Tobacco: With the next round of negotiations for the world's first public health treaty set to begin next week in Geneva, the European Union position on key issues in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is being roundly criticized by NGOs around the world. While a few European countries, most notably Sweden, have taken a leadership role in tobacco control, the European Union has adopted positions disturbingly sympathetic to transnational tobacco corporations. (Corporate Europe Observatory & Infact, 15 Nov. 2001)

NGOs Express Concern About Weak Latin American Position on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: Members of the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) attending the meeting in Brazil, including Infact (US) and the Salvadoran Center for Appropriate Technology, are extremely concerned about the weak positions being taken, including those of the Brazilian government which had been a strong leader on the treaty...The change in Brazil’s position on the FCTC comes on the heels of the announced departure of Ambassador Amorim, former chair of the negotiations, which has led to speculation about pressure from the tobacco transnationals on the government. Key individuals who were part of the working group on tobacco control in Brazil, and advocated for a strong and effective Framework Convention on Tobacco, have been removed. (Infact, 7 Nov. 2001)

Gujarat reports only 39 child workers in state [India]: In its latest data submitted to the National Human Rights Commission the state has reported a mere 39 child workers in its four cities - Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot...Patel [Sukhdev Patel of the Campaign Against Child Labour] said, "The state has thousands of child workers at construction sites and garment units all over Gujarat, silver and gold jewellery units in Ahmedabad, bidi [cigarette] and agarbatti units in the eastern belt, carpet and powerloom units in south Gujarat and ceramics units in Saurashtra". (The Times of India, 2 Nov. 2001)

Member states need to take action against tobacco advertising: Tobacco company self-regulation does not work - The World Health Organization (WHO), the world’s leading international public health agency, is calling on law-makers around the world to take action against advertising of tobacco and tobacco products in order to protect the health of the young and the old, smokers and non-smokers alike. The call comes ahead of talks between 191 countries meeting in Geneva, Switzerland later this month to negotiate global rules for tobacco control. (World Health Organization, 1 Nov. 2001)

Holy Smoke: Like many other developing countries, Cambodia is taking the brunt of the aggressive marketing techniques of big cigarette companies...World Health Organisation figures show that by the year 2030, there will be 10 million tobacco-related deaths every year. Most of these will occur in developing countries, an epidemic of heart and lung disease and cancer that will kill more people than HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and childhood diseases combined...Dr Kaing Sor of Preabat Norodom Sihanouk Hospital describes the effects he comes across: "What we're seeing at the hospital is an increase in diseases like chronic bronchitis and other chronic infections, and the main cause is smoking. Because cigarettes weaken the lungs they make you much more susceptible to many diseases including TB."  Buddhist monks are now spearheading the campaign to persuade Cambodians to give up tobacco...There are no health warnings on tobacco products in Cambodia, and no bans on sales to minors. (Lifeonline: A multimedia initiative about the impact of globalization, 27 Sep. 2001)

TOBACCO: Firms To Institute Advertising Restrictions - Several of the world's largest tobacco companies have announced voluntary plans to limit marketing and advertising worldwide in response to increased international pressure from the World Health Organization and its member states' attempts to create a treaty calling for stricter limits on tobacco advertising...According to anti-tobacco activists, the measures are not enough, however. "They're basically setting a very weak standard that's exceeded by many of the countries in which they do business," said Tobacco Liability Project head Richard Daynard. (UN Wire, 25 Sep. 2001)

Nigeria Backing Total Ban On Tobacco Advertising: The Nigerian government is seeking to impose a controversial total ban on advertising in the country in an effort to discourage smoking and build on the existing 11-year-old Tobacco Smoking Control Decree, Inter Press Service reports. (UN Wire, 25 Sep. 2001)

South Africa's Winning Tobacco Control Strategy: A notable victory has been scored in the battle against tobacco in South Africa where smoking has been rated the second highest health concern, after HIV/AIDS. Thanks to some of the strictest tobacco control measures ever adopted by the government of a developing country, cigarette consumption has fallen for eight consecutive years while the percentage of adult smokers in the country has dropped from 32 to 28 percent. The main weapon in the government’s arsenal was a steep rise in tobacco taxes (John Eberlee, Reports: Science from the Developing World, International Development Research Centre, 21 Sep. 2001)

MALAWI: Tobacco Industry Moves To Eliminate Child Labor:...Malawi's minimum working age is 14, and those who employ underage children face fines of nearly $300 or five years in jail. Authorities have not enforced the law, however, Agence France-Presse reports, and poverty in Malawi drives children to seek work on tobacco farms. (UN Wire, 19 Sep. 2001)

Malawi tobacco growers ban child labour: The Tobacco Association of Malawi says it has formed a task force to eliminate child labour on tobacco farms. (BBC News, 18 Sep. 2001)

TOBACCO: WHO, Meeting In Madrid, Calls For Treaty By 2003: The World Health Organization, 51 of whose European members met Monday through yesterday in Madrid, has called on its member nations to adopt by 2003 an international treaty against smoking and tobacco addiction...According to Dr. Haik Nikogossian, head of the WHO anti-tobacco program for Europe and former Armenian health minister, the legislation will be "the first international public health treaty." (UN Wire, 14 Sep. 2001)

{···français} L'OMS veut obtenir un traité international contre le tabagisme (Agence France-Presse, 13 Sep. 2001)

Study Reveals Link Between Asthma and Childhood Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke: Childhood exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is associated with an increased prevalence of asthma among adult non-smokers. According to a Swedish study published in the September issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), ETS also increases the chance that exposed children will smoke in adulthood. (PRNewswire, American College of Chest Physicians, 11 Sep. 2001)

TOBACCO: Companies To Curb Ads Ahead Of WHO Treaty Passage: In anticipation of the final draft of a World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world's three largest multinational tobacco companies plan today to announce a voluntary curtailment of some advertising and marketing practices, the Wall Street Journal reports. (UN Wire, 11 Sep. 2001)

WHO [World Health Organization] Calls for Stricter Noose Round Tobacco Products: WHO has warned that current methods of regulating tobacco products are not protecting public health and need to be improved if lives are to be saved... "It is the only consumer product which when consumed as indicated kills", said Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, director general of WHO, adding that food sold by tobacco companies are regulated but their tobacco brands are not and cautioned that it needs to be globally regulated if lives are to be saved. (Makalo And Faal, The Independent [Banjul,Gambia], 3 Sep. 2001)

Clarke tobacco firm 'targeted children': Kenneth Clarke is facing a World Health Organisation investigation into whether British American Tobacco, of which he is deputy chairman, put sugar and honey into cigarettes to attract under-age smokers. (Chris Ayres, Times [London], 28 Aug. 2001)

Tobacco Lures World's Teens - Free Cigarettes Find Their Way to Underage Smokers: Just as it is in the United States, giving cigarettes to teenagers is illegal in many countries, including Albania. But while the practice has all but disappeared in America, it goes on in many developing nations, and Philip Morris is not the only tobacco company that the World Health Organization has accused of enticing teenagers with free cigarettes. (Greg Winter, New York Times Service, in International Herald Tribune, 25 Aug. 2001)  

Mortality and smoking in Hong Kong: case-control study of all adult deaths in 1998 - Objective: To assess the mortality currently associated with smoking in Hong Kong, and, since cigarette consumption reached its peak 20 years earlier in Hong Kong than in mainland China, to predict mortality in China 20 years hence. (T.H. Lam, S.Y. Ho, A.J. Hedley,  K.H. Mak,  R. Peto, British Medical Journal, 18 Aug. 2001)

China's smoking timebomb: One-third of all young men in China are likely to die from smoking-related diseases, say scientists. (BBC News, 16 Aug. 2001)

India Inhales: Two and a half thousand Indians die every day from smoking related diseases - one every 40 seconds. Yet these numbers will be dwarfed in the future if present trends in tobacco use continue. This week, City Life goes to India to talk to cancer sufferers and campaigners and look at the effects of the globalization of tobacco addiction...Dr Sharad Vaidya, a Goa cancer surgeon, became so frustrated at the number of preventable tumours he was operating on that he started the National Organization for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE)...Dr Vaidya thinks that only legislation can work, the tobacco companies will never show any responsibility on their own initiative. "They're impervious to the tragedy . . . Money drives them, and greed drives them to do what they're doing." (Lifeonline: A multimedia initiative about the impact of globalization, 2 Aug. 2001)

More Tobacco Companies Going Public Overseas, New IRRC Directory Finds: More government-owned tobacco companies are falling into private hands, presenting new opportunities and ethical dilemmas for investors, finds a new report from the Investor Responsibility Research Center. While the privatization trend supports economic reforms advocated by free-trade groups like the World Trade Organization, it also invites more aggressive marketing practices that spread the health risks of smoking. (Investor Responsibility Research Center, 30 July 2001)

Tobacco giant says sorry to Czechs: Philip Morris, the US tobacco giant behind Marlboro cigarettes, has apologised for funding a widely derided survey that found that the early deaths of smokers helped governments to save money. (Michael Ellison, Guardian [UK], 27 July 2001)

HEALTH: Anti-Tobacco Treaty On Track, Says WHO: The World Health Organisation (WHO) is convinced that a proposed UN treaty curbing the use of tobacco will survive attacks from opponents. (Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service, 20 July 2001)

Tobacco: Philip Morris Report Claims Benefits Of Smokers' Deaths - A controversial study commissioned by Philip Morris to examine the financial costs of smoking includes findings that premature smokers' deaths have economic benefits, after researchers concluded that the Czech government saved $30 million in 1999 by not having to support, house and care for smokers who perished prematurely from tobacco-related illnesses. Because of the tobacco industry, the report found that the Czech Republic was better off in 1999.  Conducted by research company Arthur D. Little International, the report found that financial benefits to the Czech government from cigarette duties, income tax for tobacco businesses and customs duty already outweigh the costs of health care, lost working days and fires triggered by cigarettes. (UN Wire, 18 July 2001)

Report on Tobacco and Czech Economy Exposes Real Philip Morris Behind Glossy Image: Tobacco Giant Devalues Human Life: Corporate accountability and public health advocates are condemning Philip Morris’s attempts to convince the Czech government that tobacco-related deaths are good for the country’s economy. (Infact, 16 July 2001)

BAT Loses Plea On Smoking [Uganda]: The High Court yesterday dismissed attempts by the British American Tobacco (BAT) Limited to be joined as respondents in a case in which environmentalists are seeking criminalisation of public smoking.  BAT (U) Limited represented by Oscar Kihika had applied to court to be joined as respondents, saying that the positive outcome of the case was likely to affect their sales and profits....The Environmental Action Network Limited (TEAN) petitioned court to declare that public smoking infringes on the constitutional rights of non-smokers as provided for in the Constitution. (Juliet Nankinga, New Vision [Kampala], 14 July 2001)

New index [FTSE4Good index] riles campaigners: The launch of a new series of indices for socially responsible investors provoked immediate controversy yesterday, with strong criticism from environmental and human rights campaigners over the inclusion of certain oil and drugs companies, and protests from the CBI [Confederation of British Industries] about the potential damage to those who have failed to make the list. (Geoff Gibbs, Guardian [UK], 11 July 2001)

Developing countries to receive US $17 million for tobacco control research (World Health Organization, 28 June 2001)

Tobacco, exposed: Campaigns against smoking and tobacco companies have never been fiercer [Egypt] (Amira Howeidy, Al-Ahram Weekly, 14-20 June 2001)

AMERICAS: Tobacco Linked To Highest Number Of Preventable Deaths (UN Wire, 5 June 2001)

Child labour rampant in Malawi's tobacco industry (Child Labour News Service, 1 June 2001)

A Treaty on Tobacco?...A network of health-conscious organizations in 45 countries is calling for teeth in the tobacco treaty, which is known as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control..."There's fertile ground for organizing groups that are committed to human rights, environmental protection, and health--groups where one wouldn't expect tobacco to be a paramount issue," says Mulvey [Kathryn Mulvey, executive director of Infact]. "We're hopeful that it will set a precedent for taking on other industries whose products or practices are endangering health and the environment." (Simon Rodberg, The American Prospect, 21 May 2001)

TOBACCO: EU [European Union] Passes New Rules; WHO [World Health Organization] Wants Tougher Regulation (UN Wire, 16 May 2001)

U.S. Accused of Diluting a Global Pact to Limit Use of Tobacco (Elizabeth Olson, New York Times, 6 May 2001)

TOBACCO: Stop Ads To Cut Demand, Say Developing Country Activists (UN Wire, 2 May 2001)

Developing country campaigners target Big Tobacco (Associated Press, in abcNEWS.com, 1 May 2001)

Tobacco control treaty assailed from both ends (Frances Williams, Financial Times, 1 May 2001)

How Thailand Took on the Transnational Tobacco Titans: It began as a classic David-and-Goliath story, with a small and relatively poor country — Thailand — butting heads against wealthy multinational tobacco companies and the powerful US trade office that championed their cause. By the time it was over — after a 20-month battle before a GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, now the World Trade Organization) panel and in the court of global public opinion — Goliath's image had been badly battered, anti-tobacco forces in Thailand and internationally had been re-energized, and Thailand had won the right to impose some of the strictest tobacco controls in the world. (Stephen Dale, Reports: Science from the Developing World, International Development Research Centre, 20 Apr. 2001)

Global markets demand global responsibility (Consumers International, 15 Mar. 2001)

TOBACCO: Middle Eastern Youth Targeted By Companies, WHO Says (UN Wire, 6 Feb. 2001)

The Great South African Smokeout (Anna White, Multinational Monitor, Jan./Feb. 2001)

2000:

The "Lawsuit Abuse" Scam (Robert Weissman, Multinational Monitor, Sep. 2000)

How Corporations Absolve Their Sins (Kelly Currah, Guardian, 28 Aug. 2000)

The Marlboro Man Rides to China (Robert Weissman, Multinational Monitor, May 2000)