Driven Out Of Town
WHO’s Dr Chan demands the tobacco industry to be driven out of business, the media rallies to the cause
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by Dave Cross
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"It's going to be a tough fight but we should not give up until we make sure that the tobacco industry goes out of business," said the Chief Executive. “Largely thanks to legislative measures, smoking has plummeted in several countries,” she continued as she hoped other nations would follow a tougher lead.
It no longer matter whether the news is factual or fictitious, if it is aimed at Big T (or what is believed to be Big T) it seems to be fair game. Fox News, a bastion of reservation and factual reporting, makes the claim that each cigarette-related death earns the tobacco industry $7,000. It warns that anti-smoking gains made in the West have been wiped out by a 50% growth in smoking in China. The American Cancer Society supports such statements by reporting that only 10% of countries are currently being as tough as the WHO would like.
Ex-New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates are throwing their weight behind this campaign too. The pair has come together to launch a fund with the aim of aiding low-to-middle-income countries fight costly legal battles with the Big Tobacco.
The Associated Press news agency reports that Bloomberg had a history of “cracking down on tobacco and related products,” and this is where the problem for vapers lays – the misperception that nicotine products can be a gateway to cigarettes and that they are part of some kind of tobacco conspiracy.
Bloomberg’s smoking legislation while in office has been followed up with a vicious campaign to treat electronic cigarettes under the same umbrella – in fact his last month in office brought about the Smoke-Free Air Act, which vaping everywhere that traditional cigarettes are banned. A move that prompted Audrey Silk to light a fag in City Hall while proclaiming: “Good people disobey bad laws.”
"It's a bit stunning, dominos falling everywhere," said Mike Daube, an Australian professor of Public Health Policy commenting on the global move to forcing plain packaging. “It really is the most dramatic global development in tobacco control that I can remember in more than 40 years. I haven't seen the industry as ferocious about anything in more than 40 years. They clearly do see it as a massive threat, especially now that so many dominos are falling,” added the domino fan.
Meanwhile, The Observer related the tale of leaked documents and 161 lobbyists hired by Philip Morris International. They claim the tobacco company aimed to delay the implementation of the Tobacco Products Directive until the EU presidency passed to Lithuania – reportedly a much more tobacco-friendly nation.
Unsurprisingly, such action reflected badly on vaping and many pro-ecig activists were accused of being in the employ of Big T as Article 20 came to be voted upon. Activists who, as a matter of urgency, need to find a way to redefine and differentiate themselves from the target of Chan’s telescopic sights.
It means that Big T have never been more desperate to move into the electronic sector – which means intensive lobbying to get a set of regulations to suit them and not the current manufacturers of vaping equipment and liquids. CSP Daily recount how tobacco firms are spreading fears of counterfeit versions of their products. This is an action of a group of companies angling for preferential laws based around “standards”...standards small to medium sized companies will not be able to afford or will not find financially viable.
It reports: “The European Union is attempting to curb the vapor black market through stricter regulations and a standardization of products sold in the region, such as setting maximum nicotine content and a reduction in maximum cartridge size. EU officials argue these new regulations (which take effect next year) will protect consumers and keep lower-quality products out of the area.”
To which vapers read “will protect tobacco and pharmaceutical firms and keep lower-priced/better-performing products out of the area.”
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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