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| Business |
| Cama urges govt on tobacco treaty |
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by
Alexander Newa, 25 June 2003
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18:02:52
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Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) — which has been championing the worldwide antismoking campaign on the local front — has asked the Malawi government to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which opened for signatures this week.
According to a press statement issued Tuesday by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which drafted the treaty, at least 41 countries have signed the protocol during the first week.
Cama Executive Director John Kapito said in a later interview, the fact that more than 40 countries have signed the protocol shows that the majority of the world supports it.
“We are urging Malawi to follow suit. It will be remarkable for Malawi to put its signature at this opportune time,” said Kapito, noting that “all big countries”, including the US, South Africa, Germany and the European Community, have signed.
Kapito said the treaty is a good development for antismoking activists.
The economy of Malawi, the current president of the tobacco growers cartel International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA), heavily depends on tobacco with over 75 percent of the country’s foreign exchange coming from the leaf.
Kapito said the treaty is a proper tool for addressing problems related to tobacco smoking. Tobacco kills nearly five million people per year, according to the WHO.
According to the UN health body, the FCTC’s demand and supply reduction measures will protect billions in present and future generations worldwide from the devastating impact of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke.
Although the local tobacco industry has great fears for the FCTC, the pact is said to be lenient on countries like Malawi that heavily depend on tobacco and are, therefore, given special treatment.
In the WHO statement Tuesday, Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland said: “The fact that so many countries signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in its first week demonstrates how strongly it is supported and how meaningful it is to diverse populations and situations.”
African countries that have signed the FCTC to date are Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Senegal and South Africa.
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