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UPDATE
ON GPTC ACTIVITIES & CAMPAIGNS
~ October 2001 ~
Contents:
- Partnership Posters at 2001 National Conference
- Tobacco Industry "Youth Smoking Prevention" Programs
- Tapping U.S. Embassy Support
- Kicking Big Tobacco Out of Sports
- BAT "Stakeholder Dialogue"
- Philip Morris External Research Program
- Please report if you have followed up on any of the following...
PARTNERSHIP POSTERS AT 2001
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/aofm/0109.html
There are 50+ U.S. GPTC participants who will be attending the 2001 National
Conference on Tobacco or Health. Most U.S. groups with global partners
have agreed to design, with their partners, a simple poster about their
partnerships to share with others. Posters will be on display at: 1) GPTC
ancillary meeting will be held 7-9pm, Tuesday, Nov. 27th. 2) GPTC informational
meeting, 5:30-7pm, Wednesday, Nov. 28th.
If neither you nor your partner will be attending the National Conference,
you may send your poster materials directly to Essential Action by FRIDAY,
NOVEMBER 16. We will make sure they get displayed.
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TOBACCO INDUSTRY "YOUTH
SMOKING PREVENTION" PROGRAMS
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/aofm/0103.html
AMERICAN SOMOA
During a recent conference call with Judith Coykendall and Donna Levesque
of the PACT Program (US - MA), Moli Pa'au (American Somoa Government)
detailed Philip Morris's efforts to launch its "We Card" program
in collaboration with the American Somoan government. PM delivered a box
of materials, including posters of the law against selling to minors,
and noted that the company could supply as many additional boxes as the
Ministry of Health needed. The Ministry, which has its own materials,
turned down PM's offer. Judith and Donna shared additional information
about the "We Card" program in Massachusetts, and assured Moli
that the Ministry had made a correct decision re: whether or not to go
into partnership with PM. They warned Moli that PM will probably go directly
to store owners now, as they have done in in the U.S. Issuing a public
statement against the "We Card" program was discussed.
BANGLADESH
Work for a Better Bangladesh reports that their report "British American
Tobacco's Youth Smoking Prevention Campaign: What are its actual objectives?"
is now available on-line at http://wbb.globalink.org
PAKISTAN
Javaid Khan (Aga Khan University, Department of Medicine) reports that
BAT has launched a youth program in his country.
PALAU
Annabel Lyman of Coalition for a Tobacco Free Palau reported to Mary Beth
Anderson of Community Intervention, Inc (US - MN) and Essential Action
(Oct 18, 2001):
"I was listening to the shortwave radio today and heard on Radio
Australia, an interview with a BAT executive in Papua New Guinea (PNG)
who was informing us of a 2 pronged program they are starting in PNG 1)
encouraging youth under 18 not to smoke because it's not a smart choice
and 2) educating vendors not to sell to youth. He went on to say that
they have implemented this program in Fiji as well and would help out
any pacific nation that wanted the assistance."
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TAPPING U.S. EMBASSY SUPPORT
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/aofm/0104.html
SENEGAL
The transcript of the short documentary that the American Cultural Center
in Dakar produced and aired on national television on World No Tobacco
Day 2001 is now online at http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/resources/wntd01.html.
The documentary includes an interview with U.S. Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas.
Letters to the Ambassador from Gloria Luther (Volusia Country Health Department
- US - FL) and Carol McGruder (Polaris Research and Development, Inc -
US - CA), on behalf of their Senegalese partners (FADDES & Mouvement
Anti-Tabac), and Essential Action, were instrumental in putting tobacco
control on the Ambassador's agenda. A photo of the GPTC Coordinator Anna
White delivering the materials to the Ambassador is up at:
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/photos/usambsen.jpg
Essential Action encourages other GPTC partnerships to make contact with
U.S. embassies in their respective countries. Ways in which U.S. embassies
could prove helpful in the future, include: 1) Facilitating the transfer
of computer equipment. 2) Approving U.S. visas to tobacco control advocates
who are invited to speak in the U.S. 3) Attending tobacco control events
in their host country.
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KICKING BIG TOBACCO OUT OF
SPORTS
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/aofm/0105.html
U.S. - MN
Ellie Watkins of the Association for Non-Smokers Rights - Minnesota's
Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation Program was in charge of making this year's
Schwan's Cup USA a tobacco-free event. In July, the annual soccer tournament
drew more than 12,000 participants from 16 countries and 38 U.S. states
to Blaine, MN. Sheets with information on the tobacco industry's sponsorship
of sports around the world and how soccer teams in the U.S. and abroad
can take action were included in all the coaches' packets. To receive
a copy of the handout, as well as sample petitions for local use, contact
<awhite@essential.org>.
For more information about ANSR-MN's TFYR program see http://www.ansrmn.org/tfyr1.htm#Recreation.
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BAT "STAKEHOLDER"
DIALOGUE
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/action/BATdialogue.html
UGANDA
Phillip Karugaba (TEAN) reports: BAT held its first Corporate Responsibility
Scheme on Friday 19th October 2001 at a hotel in Entebbe. We did not attend
the meeting thanks to some good advice from you. It was however attended
by a Ministry of Health official and he is quite distraught about it all.
In his words "BAT have taken advantage of our lack of funds. Every
person who would be in our forum was there". The Ministry of Health
runs a Tobacco or Health Forum. Unfortunately because of lack of funds
it is not very active.
BAT invited Members of Parliament, The Uganda National Bureau of Standards,
National Environment Management Authority, Uganda Investment Authority,
Uganda Tourist Board, and some key individuals. BAT was there in force
and even had a bunch of auditors to monitor the process. I understand
there was an announcement about "fundamentalists" who had refused
to attend the meeting.It looks like there are building their own tobacco
control lobby. The Scheme is apparently an 8 month project and I am yet
to ascertain what it entails.
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PHILIP MORRIS EXTERNAL RESEARCH
PROGRAM
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/action/pmpr.html
Elif Dagli (Turkey) recently sent us a copy of the 2001 PMERP Request
for Applications. The most noticeable change from the previous year's
RFA is the omission of the list of peer reviewers -- a clear sign that
our letter-writing campaign significantly disrupted PMERPS's effort to
use peer reviewers' affiliations to legitimize the program! Also, one
more person has been added to the Scientific Advisory Board: Cassandra
L. Smith, PhD (Deputy Director, Center for Advanced Biology, Boston University)
http://bme.bu.edu/faculty/csmith.html
PMERP has been aggressively recruiting applicants for postdoctoral fellowships
around the world. GPTC participant, Marion Ceraso (Johns Hopkins Institute
for Global Tobacco Control), reports that she recently heard from a researcher
at Institut Municipal d´Investigación Mèdica, one
of the biggest public health research institutes in Spain. The institute
advertised the fellowship opportunity to its employees, and the researcher
looked into it. PMERP has since followed up at least four times and been
very insistent about his applying when the next RFA comes out in 6 mos.
They declined his request for copies of the program's previous RFA's,
simply saying that RFAs are similar to NIH's. One of the reasons that
the Spanish researcher was interested in the program is that researchers
at Johns Hopkins University are involved. For an Israeli example of how
the postdoctoral fellowship is being advertised see: http://ard.huji.ac.il/1422.htm.
From a tobacco control advocacy perspective, it is important that we
do all we can to create/maintain an international stigma against researchers
accepting tobacco industry money. GPTC partnerships should continue to
monitor PMERP's and other industry research programs in their respective
countries and to conduct follow up actions, as relevant. Types of information
to collect: 1) Who and what type of research is being funded? 2) How does
PM use researchers' affiliations to their research program for public
relations purposes -or- to thwart worthwhile tobacco control legislation?
3) Has PMERP initiated any other activities in your country, e.g. symposiums,
special reports, conferences?
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PLEASE REPORT IF YOU HAVE
FOLLOWED UP ON ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
Tobacco's Global Toll
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/qofm/0109/
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/globaltoll.html
Marlboro Adventure Team (&
US/EU themes in tobacco advertising)
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/action/MarlAdvTeam.html
Int'l Public Health Over
Wal-Mart Profits!
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/aofm/0108.html
Maximize Impact of PM's Czech
Study
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/aofm/0107.html
Sleuthing Big Tobacco's Global
Trail
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/aofm/0106/
"Point of Purchase"
Tobacco Marketing
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/aofm/0101.html
Contact Essential Action if you would like hardcopies of any of these
partnership activity ideas sent to you.
Essential
Action
Global Partnerships for Tobacco Control
P.O. Box 19405 ~ Washington,
DC 20036
Tel: +1 202-387-8030 ~ Fax: +1 202-234-5176
Email: tobacco@essential.org
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco
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