Summary: August 3, 2003: David Byrne, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, speaks on EU Tobacco Control Policy at 12th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (Helsinki)
Prime Minister, Dr. Lee, President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here in Helsinki, to address this Conference.
The theme of "Global Action for a tobacco-free future" strikes exactly the right note. Because it is vital that we focus on the global character of the tobacco pandemic. Particularly as the tobacco industry is shifting its sights towards potential victims in developing countries.
Today, tobacco kills almost 5 million people every year world-wide. This figure is hard to comprehend. Its magnitude overshadows the suffering of individuals. The friends and family left to pick up the pieces in its wake. The sheer human waste. The wider costs to society.
But whilst there may not yet be memorials to its victims, the world is awake to its menace.
The battle between Big Tobacco and those whose freedom and well-being they seek to furtively deny, is now a global battle. It is also a battle for the future of the developing world.
At stake is nothing less than basic freedom. The freedom to make choices, free from the thrall of addiction.
The freedom to fulfill one's potential. Without paying a heavy price for an addiction cultivated in the innocence of youth.
Of course this is not how Big Tobacco likes to portray it. The addiction industry likes to portray itself as a respectable purveyor of consumer choice! It is selling a lifestyle, a choice!
It defends a right to freedom of expression. It even dares to claim corporate social responsibility, when its products are designed to damage and kill its consumers.
But it's in the addiction business. It is in the business of denying choice. Of fostering dependence. Of enslaving its customers. Especially the young. The young whom it grooms with an unparalleled creativity of effort, from Hollywood to racing cars. To an addiction which lures half of those caught in its trap, to premature death.
Without further global action, by 2020 the disease burden attributable to tobacco will nearly double.
And the developing countries' share of misery, may rise from 50% to around 70% of global deaths.
In the face of this global pandemic, we need to build strong global partnerships, capable of mobilising local change. And capable of resisting industry's efforts to create a new empire of addiction.
Within the emerging framework of the "Global Action for a tobacco-free future", the European Community has established itself as a major player in tobacco control at a world level.
The Community's role in the negotiations on the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control provides very clear evidence of this. With a European Union of 25 Member States from next May, we will increasingly be able to demonstrate our common commitment to tobacco control.
Obviously, converting strong commitments into concrete and sustainable results is far from easy. In the past, we often heard the pessimists talk about the "unfavourable climate" for tobacco control.
Well, I for one have always believed that when it comes to life and death issues for our citizens, we need to make the political weather ourselves.
Within the last year this politically ambitious approach has proved very fruitful. Against the odds, we have seen the adoption, and signature, of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control by the Community.
And thanks to sheer political will of European Health Ministers, we have seen the adoption of the Community's Directive on Tobacco Advertising.
The FCTC
The Framework Convention is a turning point in the history of tobacco control. It means that the writing is not just on the wall for Big Tobacco it's in a Treaty.
It is the first ever international treaty for public health.
It shows clearly the commitment of governments all over the world to fight the tobacco scourge and to put the health of their citizens first.
It sends a signal of hope to those who may doubt, that political leaders can put their well-being before the wishes of this powerful lobby.
It confirms that on tobacco control, the tide is turning.
I am proud that the European Community has made such a substantial contribution to this very positive outcome, and I would like to publicly thank my officials, their colleagues and our NGOs who made the difference.
I am also proud that the Community was amongst the first Parties to sign. We are now preparing for ratification. Moreover, the Commission is prepared to play an active role in the preparatory work for the implementation of the Convention, which will start soon.
Concerning the FCTC process, let me underline two aspects in particular.
First, the Convention clearly bears the mark of the Community, as many of our achievements in tobacco control are an integral part of the Convention.
For example the provisions on packaging and labelling, and our pioneering work on banning misleading descriptors like "light" and "mild", are reflected in the Convention.
Second, the support of the Community position by the Accession Countries throughout the negotiations has underlined the commitment of our new Members to tobacco control. This is a clear indication that the enlargement process will further strengthen our future work in this area.
The Tobacco Advertising Directive
Alongside the FCTC, over the last year we have managed to adopt a binding Tobacco Advertising Directive, and a new Council Recommendation on the prevention of smoking.
Taken together, this comes very close to offering our Member States a complete ban on the advertising of tobacco products. With the Directive, we go as far as we can within the legal framework. With the Recommendation, we cover those areas that we cannot currently address with binding legislation.
The Directive foresees a general ban on tobacco advertising in the press and on the internet. Advertising of tobacco products via radio and the sponsorship of radio programmes by tobacco companies will also be banned. This will be on the same lines as the banning of television advertising under the 1989 "Television without frontiers Directive." The Advertising Directive also bans tobacco sponsorship for events or activities with cross-border implications.
The Recommendation complements these provisions. It calls upon Member States to prohibit indirect tobacco advertising, billboard and poster advertising, as well as cinema advertising.
The Recommendation also foresees measures to reduce the availability and supply of tobacco products to children and adolescents.
Moreover, it calls on Member States to oblige tobacco manufacturers to disclose their expenditure on advertising and sponsorship, and to provide protection from exposure to passive smoking.
Passive smoking is a major issue which needs particular attention. It is estimated that passive smoking may account for between 30 and 50 thousand deaths every year in the European Union.
The Treaty establishing the European Community does not give us a mandate for binding legislation in the broad field of passive smoking, and that is why the Recommendation's provisions in this regard are all the more important.
However, as regards health protection at the workplace, I am determined to exploit all the possibilities that the Treaty offers. I am pleased to announce that together with my colleague responsible for Employment and Social Affairs we are about to conceive a major initiative aimed at banning smoking in workplaces.
I am a firm believer in taking the health agenda into other policy areas.
The Commission's recent European Environment and Health Strategy places particular emphasis on protection against environmental tobacco smoke.
On agriculture policy, the European Commission will continue to press the Council and Parliament to take forward its policy of phasing out tobacco subsidies.
In the field of taxation, the recent increase in minimum excise duty for cigarettes is a first step in the right direction.
In keeping with the "global action theme", we are working with the WHO and World Bank to mainstream tobacco control in development policy. Our joint high-level meeting on tobacco control and development last February, is a promising start. We need to keep the momentum moving.
Future initiatives
To those who suggest that we have reached the end of the road on European tobacco control, I have some bad news. We have a lot done, but a lot more to do.
Later this year the Commission will adopt a Decision on the use of colour photographs or other illustrations as health warnings on tobacco products.
Preparatory work is also under way for regulating tobacco ingredient.
This will examine the substances that may be used in the manufacture of tobacco products, taking account of their addictive potential. A Commission proposal in this area can be expected by the end of next year.
Finally, the Commission will follow closely the implementation of the Advertising Directive. And if necessary, we will propose amendments to extend the ban to forms of advertising which are currently outside its scope. For example tobacco sponsorship in or of the printed media and internet services.
We are also supporting Europe-wide smoking prevention and cessation initiatives. The European Network for Smoking Prevention and the European Network for Young People and Tobacco, have produced significant results. They make a vital contribution to policy-making at European level.
No doubt, those of you living with the MTV generation are aware of our Europe-wide "feel free to say no" campaign. The objective is to dissuade young people across Europe from starting smoking, or to persuade them to stop.
Stronger messages are now present. "Feel free to say no" informs young people about lobbying by Big Tobacco, its marketing and promotion tricks and the selective, trivialised or even false presentation of medical research.
Because avoiding addiction, is all about feeling free.
In all of this, collaboration with our national partners is vital to affecting changes in perception on the ground.
We will review effective prevention strategies with the Italian Presidency at our Rome conference this November.
Conclusion
As the first European Commissioner responsible for health, I have sought to tackle the tobacco menace with every means available to me. Because it is a global battle and the stakes are very high.
In this battle, we can see ranged against us the full power of the addiction industry with its hold on public life and the media. And in cigarettes, we see its weapons of mass disease.
But for those of us charged to put our citizens wellbeing first, we know that victory is in sight. And as a political and personal priority, I can assure you, that in the challenges ahead you have the full weight of the European Union at your side.
If we can maintain our global alliance. If we can rally "global action for a tobacco-free future". And if we can harness the powerful political will of free, informed citizens - there can only be one outcome.
When given the choice, people have a habit of choosing freedom.
Thank you.
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