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Worldwide newsand commentCANADA: EXPERTS WANT HEALTH ONLITIGATION AGENDAIn the early 19800s, Canada had one of theglobe’s highest rates of per capita tobaccoconsumption. But in less than two decades,in response to aggressive campaigning byhealth NGOs, Canada experienced argu-ably the largest decline in use anywhere.

Gains were made on many fronts:through increases in tobacco taxation, aworld precedent-setting ban on tobaccoadvertising, breakthroughs in smoke-freeair travel and federally-regulated work-places, and from landmark tobacco packagewarnings.

But Canada can no longer claim that itis at the forefront of responses to thetobacco epidemic. In 2010, the neo-liberalfederal government cancelled longstand-ing plans for a renewal of stale packagewarnings. Then, in the face of fierceopposition, it reversed itself and a yearlater mandated new warnings which dis-carded several of the precedent-settingelements of Canada’s ground-breaking1994 and 2001 warning systems.

Then, the health minister cancelled theentire grants and contributions compo-nent of the national tobacco strategy. Thiscut millions of dollars of funding fromtroublesome NGOs which had pressedthe government to produce the updatedwarnings. Needless to say, plain packagingis no longer on the government’s agenda.

One of the most severe criticisms of thefederal government, said Western Universitylaw professor Robert Solomon, “stems fromthe sweetheart tobacco smuggling settle-ments that it negotiated with Big Tobacco in2008 and 2010. In those settlements, healthremedies to deal with the illness caused bythe smuggling fraud appear not to havebeen given any consideration.”

Unlike American tobacco litigation,criminal investigations and civil lawsuits inCanada produced settlements of pennieson the dollars claimed, no disclosure ofindustry documents and no real incentivesfor the manufacturers to change theirbehaviour. Tobacco executives facing jailtime had their charges stayed.

According to William Marsden ofMontreal’s The Gazette, the tobaccoexecutive who planned much of the smug-gling told him that the federal policeknew “all about this. They could havewalked in and just handcuffed everybodyat Imperial [Canada’s largest tobaccocompany. The government]…did not havethe guts of a field mouse to go after theexecutives of the company….”Now, Canada’s provinces are suing

tobacco manufacturers and their inter-national parents to recover the health carecosts associated with smoking whichresulted from industry fraud and conspir-acy over five decades. The governmentsallege that the companies involved liedabout risks, addiction, ‘light’ and ‘mild’cigarettes, and second-hand smoke.The claims filed to date by nine pro-

vinces exceed CDN $110 billion. If thiswrongful behaviour is proven in court, asit was in the USA, it will constitute thelargest fraud in the history of Canadianbusiness. It certainly was the mostdestructive with estimates that industrydeception caused or contributed to upto two million deaths in Canada since1964.The smuggling settlements trivialised

the harms caused by the fraud. So the

Campaign for Justice on Tobacco Fraud(CJTF) was incorporated, to advocate forpositive health outcomes from the healthcare cost recovery litigation.

As mentioned in the September 2014Tobacco Control, the CJTF pressedprovincial and territorial governments totake Big Tobacco to trial, insist on the dis-closure of industry documents, and allo-cate a significant portion of moniesrecovered to an arms-length-from-govern-ment agency with a mandate to reducetobacco industry-caused disease. TheCJTF submission was signed by theheads of 60 health organisations, by thedeans of schools of public health, and byprofessors of medicine and law, 137 signa-tories in all.

It will take a determined health com-munity to put public health into the litiga-tion deliberations and to offset years offederal government back-sliding.

This story is also published on theTobacco Control website at http://blogs.bmj.com/tc/2014/09/25/canada-what-were-they-smoking-experts-want-health-on-tobacco-litigation-agenda/

Garfield MahoodCampaign for Justice on Tobacco Fraud, Canada

gmahood@justiceontobaccofraud.ca

An image from the Campaign for Justice on Tobacco Fraud.

All articles written by Marita Heflerunless otherwise attributed. Ideas anditems for News Analysis should be sentto: marita.hefler@menzies.edu.au

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BANGLADESH: INDUSTRY ATTEMPTSTO COUNTER CIVIL SOCIETY CRITICSBangladesh has been notable in the pastdecade for the range of academics, blog-gers, civil society groups and media practi-tioners who have been highly critical of thetobacco industry and its effects on health,the environment, agriculture and educa-tion. A new study funded by the JohnsHopkins Bloomberg School of PublicHealth and managed by the BangladeshCenter of Communications Programs hasdocumented the corporate social responsi-bility (CSR) narratives employed by theindustry to divert criticism and create analternative public image.

The study reviewed the activities of thefour main tobacco companies inBangladesh – British American TobaccoBangladesh (BATB), and Bangladesh-ownedcompanies Dhaka Tobacco Industries(DTI), Abul Khair Tobacco, and NasirTobacco Industries. It found all three havecorporate philosophies based on a ‘triplebottom line’ approach of corporate socialresponsibility – concern for people, envir-onment and country as well as profits.

BATB, despite being a multinationalcorporation, promotes connectednesswith Bangladesh, while the other threecompanies showcase themselves as exam-ples of the potential and capabilities ofBangladeshi businessman, emphasisinghumble beginnings as small entrepreneursand “rags to riches” narratives.

In terms of ethics, each of the companiesis at pains to remove itself from regularaccusations broadcast in the media ofmoney laundering, bribery and skirtingtobacco control regulations – instead pro-jecting an image of being mindful of thelaw, acting in the best interests of stake-holders and ensuring high standards ofprofessionalism. Values such as honesty,transparency, accountability, commitment,confidence and capability are showcased.These values reinforce the assertion thatthat tobacco industry is an employer ofhigh standing (or in the case of BATB, oneof the country’s ‘preferred employers’).

Social issues are strongly promoted:BATB has afforestation as a flagshipproject, DTI and Nasir Tobacco Industrieshave health and education projects andAbul Khair Tobacco focuses on education.The study researchers note that theBangladesh government encourages privatecompanies to conduct CSR activities andhas approved a tax exemption facilitywhich allows 10% of corporate income tobe spent as CSR. Perhaps unsurprisingly,this tax rebate is not mentioned on the

communication materials of any of thecompanies.All of the companies also have a range

of programs which they use to countercriticisms that the tobacco industry isdestructive to the environment. Theseinclude afforestation, biodiversity initia-tives, renewable energy, energy efficiencyand recycling, together with a range ofagricultural initiatives. While these initia-tives are promoted as examples of goodcorporate citizenship, it is also likely thateach one supports companies’ supplychains, complements infrastructure, guar-antees continuous company operationsand/or promotes business cost savings,delivering a double benefit to thecompany.Similarly, each of the companies runs a

range of education programs. BATB runs atalent promoting platform called ‘Battle ofthe Minds’, which has been established fora decade, and engages the best universitiesacross the country to participate, with thewinning students offered an opportunityto work at BATB (one of the country’s‘preferred employers’). Contestants areasked to solve a real business challenge tohelp them transition from academic life tothe corporate world. The winners arewidely publicised in the media. This initia-tive positions BATB as concerned for edu-cation and helps it to recruit the bestgraduates in the country.The study lends weight to calls from

anti-tobacco groups such as theBangladesh Anti Tobacco Alliance (BATA),Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids andBangladesh National Control Cell, all ofwhich have called for a ban on tobaccoindustry corporate social responsibilitycampaigns in Bangladesh. It illustrateshow tobacco companies manipulate publicopinion through CSR, and potentiallysubvert or undermine tobacco controlapproaches and policies.The study report can be obtained by

contacting M Rizwan Sharif by emailrizwan.sharif@ulab.edu.bd.

Jude William R GeniloM Rizwan Sharif

University of Liberal Arts Bangladeshrizwan.sharif@ulab.edu.bd

NEW ZEALAND: BOOK RAISESCONFLICT OF INTEREST CONCERNSInvestigative journalist Nicky Hagerreleased a book in August 2014 on theseamier side of New Zealand politics.Dirty Politics: How attack politics ispoisoning New Zealand’s political

environment is based on the hacked (andsubsequently leaked to Hager) emails andFacebook messages of Cameron Slater,who runs the right wing Whale Oil BeefHooked blog website, and other figuresrelated to the currently governing Nationalparty.

One such figure is public relations con-sultant and former British AmericanTobacco (NZ) corporate affairs managerCarrick Graham. The book alleges thatGraham fed Slater a large amount ofmaterial, often attacks on scientists andadvocates in the public health fieldworking on tobacco, alcohol and obesityissues. Slater would schedule the postsunedited according to Graham’s instruc-tions and with no indication that an exter-nal party supplied the posts. For thisservice, it is alleged that Graham paidSlater NZD$6555 per month.

The book did not include direct evi-dence of Graham’s clients, however thecorrespondence between Slater andGraham does implicate Katherine Rich,who is both the chief executive of theFood and Grocery Council (FGC, repre-senting companies selling alcohol, softdrinks, confectionery, tobacco), and aboard member of the government’sHealth Promotion Agency (HPA, inform-ing health promoting policy and practice).A series of ‘hits’ was coordinated todefend the interests of FGC members; asseen in the extract overleaf.

Acting on behalf of the FGC, Rich hasmade public submissions to parliamentarycommittees and ministerial consultationsopposed to tobacco control policies. InJanuary 2011, the FGC opposed legisla-tion to ban the retail display of tobaccoproducts. In October 2012, March andMay of 2014, her name was attached tosubmissions from the FGC opposing plainpackaging of tobacco products. On eachoccasion, Rich deployed standard tobaccoindustry/front group arguments.

Rich is facing renewed criticism andquestions about conflict of interestsbetween her industry role and her serviceon the HPA board from the Green, NewZealand First, and Labour parties. GreenParty health spokesperson Kevin Haguehas said that her role is no longer tenable:“Katherine Rich, Carrick Graham andCameron Slater have all been involved ina systematic undermining of health pro-motion in New Zealand. She cannottenably remain on the board of thatorganisation.”

Dr Barrie Gordon, senior lecturer inhealth and physical education at Victoria

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University said that the government hadbeen either naïve or staggeringly cynicalwhen it appointed Ms Rich to the HPAboard. “Now that it’s been exposed whatshe’s been up to, and the conflicts, Iassume she will resign,” he told RadioNew Zealand.

Prime Minister John Key was reluctant tosay whether it was appropriate for Rich toreceive public money through the HPA. “Iwouldn’t want to offer a view on it, unless Icould see all the facts,” he said. HealthMinister Tony Ryall, however, told RadioNew Zealand that he was confident Richcould manage any conflicts appropriately.

An Official Information Act request hasrecently been made by Stuart Yeates forconflict of interest statements from allHPA board members past and present.The response is due on or before 17September 2014.

Concerns had been raised in the past byaddiction specialist Professor DougSellman about the suitability of Rich toserve on the HPA board. Sellman was sub-sequently a frequent target of theWhaleoil blog.

The hacker Rawshark, who leaked themessages between Slater and others thatform the basis of Dirty Politics, had beenleaking selected correspondence via thetwitter account @Whaledump. Materialreleased so far includes screenshots of cor-respondence between Rich, Graham, andSlater. While Rich does not directly impli-cate herself in the source material, thereis substantial correspondence betweenGraham and Slater, with Graham coordin-ating the ‘hits’ labelled ‘KR’ for Katherine

Rich, and in line with FGC interests.Other correspondence released includesGraham advising Slater of payment for$6,555, and a confidential proposal toFGC member Nestle from Graham forpublic relations services.The day after the release of the above

material, Twitter suspended the @whale-dump account. Slater confirmed he hadmade a complaint to Twitter about the@whaledump account, and would do soagain if required. Hours later a newaccount (@whaledump2), and at least twofalse accounts, were created.The relationship between Rich,

Graham, and Slater is just one story con-tinuing to unfold in a scandal that hasupset a lot of interests, and already led tothe resignation of a senior cabinet minis-ter, just weeks before a general election.How the Dirty Politics affair will affectthe tenability of Rich’s service on theHPA board, remains to be seen.Additional details from this article are

published on our website at http://blogs.bmj.com/tc/2014/10/02/new-zealand-dirty-politics-raises-conflict-of-interest-concerns/

Nathan CowieCowie Research and Communications

nato.cowie@gmail.com

THE PHILIPPINES: FIGHT FORGRAPHIC HEALTH WARNINGSIn July 2014, the Philippines governmentpassed a graphic health warning law thatwas first filed in 2007.Although the passage of the law is con-

sidered a significant step in the right

direction, industry influence is evident inthe requirement for graphic warnings tobe placed at the bottom rather than tophalf of the front and back of tobaccoproduct packages. This is in contrast withthe practice of over 60 countries and ter-ritories that have adopted graphic healthwarnings.

The law is in effect but retailers have20 months to comply after the healthdepartment issues a maximum of 12graphic health warning templates, plannedfor release in September 2014. As aresult, packs with graphic warnings arenot legally required to appear in themarket until after May 2016, the monthof the presidential elections.

During hearings, representatives of themajor tobacco companies (includingPhilip Morris, Fortune Tobacco, JapanTobacco, and British American Tobacco)stated that they support the idea ofgraphic health warnings but the termsmust be ‘reasonable’. As reflected in thebills filed by lawmakers from tobacco-producing provinces and position papersof the tobacco companies, the so called‘reasonable’ demands of the industryincluded having a 3–5 year lead time,warnings that cover only 30% of thebottom of one side of the pack, warningsthat change only after 2–3 years, and amandate for IACT, a multi-sectoral com-mittee on which the Philippine TobaccoInstitute (an association of tobacco com-panies) sits as a member, to issue graphicwarnings and implement the law. Thecommittee is chaired by the head ofthe trade department, with the head ofthe health department serves as vice chair.

Many of the tobacco industry’sdemands were quickly adopted immedi-ately following hearings at the lowerhouse. The version adopted by the290-member House of Representativesneeded to be reconciled with the pre-ferred Senate version during a bicameralcommittee meeting when legislators fromboth houses came together to iron outdiscrepancies in the two bills. The Senateversion required 60% warnings on thetop of the package, a 1-year lead time,and gave the department of health thesole authority to implement the law.

After hours of hairsplitting debate, thenew version, which is now embodied inthe signed law, emerged. Legislators repre-senting tobacco industry interests report-edly insisted on ensuring that IACTwouldbe the implementing agency. As a com-promise, the implementation role was splitamong various agencies: the health depart-ment to issue templates, trade departmentto hear complaints, both departments to

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issue the implementing rules in consult-ation with stakeholders, explicitly includ-ing the tobacco industry, and the IACT tomonitor compliance with the law.

The Philippines, which ratified theFCTC in 2004, is currently one of 10countries with the highest number ofsmokers and is one of the last countries inthe Southeast Asia to adopt graphic healthwarning measures (together with Laos andCambodia).

Debby SyHealthJustice, Philippines

debbysy1@gmail.com

THE NETHERLANDS: GOVERNMENTFACES COURT FOR FCTC VIOLATIONSA Dutch NGO, the Youth SmokingPrevention Foundation, has taken actionagainst the Kingdom of the Netherlandsto put a stop to tobacco industry influenceover Dutch government policy making.

Although the Netherlands are a signa-tory to the World Health Organization

Framework Convention on TobaccoControl (FCTC), the court summonsissued by the Foundation outlines dozensof examples demonstrating how the gov-ernment has breached Article 5.3 of theFCTC, which protects policy makingfrom the tobacco industry.The summons notes that the government

has systematically violated the provision,and actively invites the tobacco industry toadvocate its position on policy develop-ment. Using Freedom of Information provi-sions, the Foundation has obtainedhundreds of documents revealing how thegovernment maintains frequent contactwith the tobacco industry.Government departments listed as

having regular contact and discussionabout draft policies include the ministriesof finance, health, welfare and sport.Frequently no minutes are taken of themeetings, and there is no transparency ormonitoring of industry consultations.More information and a link to the

summons is available on our blogat http://blogs.bmj.com/tc/2014/09/15/the-netherlands-dutch-government-sued-over-who-fctc-violations/

BRAZIL/GERMANY: BE MARLBORO,BE FINED, BE BANNEDPhilip Morris International’s ‘Be Marlboro’campaign, rolled out in more than 50 coun-tries, has been heavily criticised for the useof themes and images that appeal to youth.‘You’re the target’, a report released inMarch 2014 by international health andadvocacy organisations including Campaignfor Tobacco Free Kids, Alliance for Controlof Tobacco Use Brazil, CorporateAccountability International, FrameworkConvention Alliance, InterAmerican HeartFoundation and Southeast Asia TobaccoControl Alliance, clearly showed the cam-paign uses themes such as risk taking,exploration, freedom and defying authorityas the basis for the comprehensive cam-paign based on advertising, events andsocial media promotion.Now the consumer protection agency in

the state of Sao Paolo (PROCON) hasfined Philip Morris over US$480,000. Thefine was levied in response to a complaint

filed by ACT-Brazil, a tobacco controladvocacy NGO. Predictably, Philip Morrishas appealed the fine. International part-ners have vowed to support ACT-Brazil infighting to have the fine upheld andforcing Philip Morris to pay.

‘Be Marlboro’ had already been bannedby a court in Germany in late 2013 fortargeting youth, following numerous com-plaints by the NGO Forum Rauchfrei.However a new series of ads recentlyappeared, triggering a fresh round of chal-lenges. While the new posters do notexplicitly target youth, they are likely tocapitalise on recall from the previous cam-paign. Meanwhile, German activists therehave taken matters into their own hands,by ‘refashioning’ posters and covering theMarlboro logo.

Both Germany and Brazil are parties tothe FCTC, along with most of the coun-tries where ‘Be Marlboro’ is running. Ifthe total advertising bans mandated by theFCTC were implemented, legal battles todetermine whether campaigns targetyouth would be unnecessary.

FROM THE TOBACCO CONTROL BLOGNews articles and opinion are regularlypublished on our blog http://blogs.bmj.com/tc.

Recent stories include a podcast interviewwith Professor Mohammad Siahpush aboutrecent research examining whether it isbetter to be a thin smoker or a fatex-smoker: (http://blogs.bmj.com/tc/2014/09/22/is-it-better-to-be-a-thin-smoker-or-a-fat-ex-smoker/) and a story about the shock-ing ubiquity of tobacco vending machines inGermany, including near schools (http://blogs.bmj.com/tc/2014/09/10/germany-pre-schools-and-cigarette-vending-machines/).

If you have an idea for a blog article,please contact Marita Hefler, marita.hefler@menzies.edu.au or Becky Freemanbecky.freeman@sydney.edu.au.

Tob Control 2014;23:462–465.doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-052055

A ‘refashioned’ Be Marlboro poster inGermany. After the campaign was stopped bya German court in late 2013 for targetingyouth, the campaign was been relaunchedusing new imagery. Credit: Forum Rauchfrei.

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