To Encourage the Others

Luk Joossens: EU ad ban would be felt far and wide

ecisive measures are needed to make EU anti-tobacco laws more effective and have an exemplary impact further afield. Luk Joossens, a Brussels-based consultant for the International Union Against Cancer, argues that a good start would be to introduce an advertising ban.

Even though the EU Commission passed a series of proposals on the Community's role in combating tobacco consumption, Joossens says that these should have gone further.

"I think that when we consider the proposals of the Commission there is quite a difference between them and the recommendation of the High Level Cancer Experts Committee consensus statement at the Smokefree conference in Helsinki. The Commission document is much weaker than the proposals of the high level cancer experts, and this is due to the immense lobbying by the tobacco industry. The industry was well informed about all the documents and texts that the Commission was going to propose, and they lobbied all the Commissioners during the debate. The anti-tobacco lobby was not informed about these documents, so we didn't know on which issues we should contact the Commissioners."

"The anti-tobacco lobby was not informed about these documents, so we didn't know on which issues we should contact the Commissioners."

Joossens is keen to emphasise the intensity of the tobacco industry's lobbying machinations in the heart of EU policy making.

"This is a general problem now in Europe: the tobacco industry has a high profile in Brussels and has access to all kinds of confidential documents, while we don't.

"It was the same thing with the Commissions tax proposals concerning tobacco. The industry lobbied beforehand while we only saw the documents after they were published. The industry is able to lobby in a much more efficient way because it has access to confidential data."

Political pull

The problem for the anti-tobacco lobby is that it is not able to draw on the support and influence of the array of former political leaders and bigwigs that the tobacco industry has managed to hook with lucrative rewards.

"It has many people present in Brussels--Philip Morris alone has about 15--and they can pay for high level expertise of lobbyists to work in the European Parliament. Philip Morris had Margaret Thatcher as a consultant and is willing to spend huge amounts to hire former high level political leaders in order to open doors for the industry and get the kind information that we can't."

The EU needs to bridge the gap between expert recommendations on tobacco control and its own legislative output. It is a gap that has been sustained by tobacco industry lobbying. Joossens points out that the Helsinki statement of the high-level cancer experts makes clear recommendations in relation to tar content and labelling that have been watered down in the final proposals from the Commission. As a result the anti-tobacco movement has to re-target and re-emphasise basic requirements.

Basic measures

"We have to see what is possible according to European legislation. I think that concerning labelling, priority should be given to reviewing the directives so that we get beyond the situation where just four percent of a cigarette pack is given over to health warnings, and aim for at least 25%, as in Australia and Canada.

"There is now a danger that some countries are lowering their standards in relation to labelling in order to conform with EU standards."

"There is now a danger that some countries are lowering their standards in relation to labelling in order to conform with EU standards. The same is going on in Poland. A year ago parliament proposed that 30% of packages should be used for health warnings, but this is now being brought into question in the debate about joining the EU."

Joossens argues that the goal of an advertising ban deserves special attention.

"Advertising is a priority issue for several reasons, apart from the fact that a ban is important in the overall strategy for tobacco control. The proposal to ban advertising is on the table, so we should endorse it and ensure that it is implemented. It is not easy to make new proposals for legislation, which is why we should see this through."

The prospects for a ban look sunnier now than for years.

"Before, there was always a minority of EU states--Germany, the Netherlands and the UK--that blocked progress in this area. But with election in Britain of a government committed to a ban on tobacco advertising we hope that this blocking minority will be dissolved. If we have a ban in the European Union, it is likely that many east European countries would follow this precedent. It would also have a positive effect in the rest of the world."

US repercussions

Joossens does not believe that moves being made toward a tobacco advertising ban in the US, and the results of legal actions involving the industry will have a direct impact on European efforts. Instead, the connections have a broader significance.

"It is evident that the world market in cigarettes is dominated by a few transnational companies. The US is a sizable and important player in the tobacco industry, which is why everything that happens there has an impact on the rest of the world. It is possible that the legal actions will affect the profits of the tobacco industry overall. The gross profits before taxes of Philip Morris in relation to tobacco is $8 billion, which is quite a large sum with which to invest in other countries and expand. Of course, all the attention paid to legal action is important. Apart from anything else it receives a media focus and shows up how the industry behaves."

Europe may not, therefore, become the legal battle ground against tobacco that the US has. Joossens reckons that other approaches are more relevant for European action to curtail the tobacco epidemic.

Widening horizon

"The best thing that could be done in Europe would be to set a good example. If we had an advertising ban 5 years ago in the EU, it would have helped the countries in central and eastern Europe. During the debate in Poland two years ago on banning advertising, one of the arguments against the proposal was that there was no need to do so because 'even the EU does not have a ban, so why should we?' It is almost impossible for central and eastern Europe to have stronger legislation in such an area than the EU.

"Most of the countries of central and eastern Europe want to join the EU, therefore the best thing we can do is to raise the Union's standards.There should also be improved cooperation on tobacco and health between western Europe and the central and eastern region, but that involves money, which is lacking.

"...the best thing we can do is to raise the Union's standards."

"On a wider level, the main problem areas concerning of tobacco and health is not America or Europe, but Asia. By the end of the century half of the sales of cigarettes will take place in Asia. People's income there is on the rise and so is their smoking. From a world perspective the future focus will be on the Pacific region." n

Interview by Mark Waller

Smoke Free Europe - A Forum for Networks - 14 AUG 1997

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