Tobacco industry attempts to undermine Article 5.3 (emphases added)
| Company/organisation, context and date | Claim in relation to Article 5.3/proposals to limit tobacco industry interference within policymaking |
| Before Article 5.3 Guidelines being agreed in Durban in November 2008 | |
| Japan Tobacco International to the European Affairs Office, 12 June 2008 | “The benefits of stakeholder consultation have been widely recognized both at national and international levels and JTI, therefore, believes that the Parties [to the FCTC] should reject any suggestion that the tobacco industry should be excluded, whether expressly or in fact, from the regulatory process. Such an approach would be contrary both to accepted international practices, of which stakeholder consultation forms an essential part, and national constitutional principles and law. […] The protection of the legislative process should be founded on internationally accepted principles of Better Regulation…“4 |
| BusinessEurope (which BAT has close connections with*) to Jose Manuel Barroso (President of the European Commission), 29 August 2008 | “BusinessEurope has always been a strong supporter of the Commission’s policy to try to achieve Better Regulation for growth and jobs in the EU. […] [P]roper consultation of all affected stakeholders carried out in accordance with the Commission’s general principles and minimum standards is crucial for getting an idea about the cost-effectiveness of legislation. For this reason, we are seriously worried about developments in the framework of the ongoing negotiations within the World Health Organisation on draft guidelines that will implement Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) where one of the issues is the attempt by national and EU health authorities to exclude the tobacco industry from being consulted on policy and legislation.”5 |
| BAT response to the UK Department of Health discussion document “Consultation on the future of tobacco control”, 5 Sept 2008 | “[W]e are concerned that the draft Guidelines pursuant to Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) could result in less than full and proper consultation with the tobacco industry. Such a proposal would be inconsistent, not only with UK Government policy but with the European Commission’s commitment to open consultation. […] We request that the UK Government promotes in international fora, such as discussions relating to the development of the FCTC Guidelines, the principles of better regulation to which it is committed, to ensure that all relevant stakeholders, including the tobacco industry, are properly consulted and listened to, now and in the future, on issues affecting their businesses.”6 |
| Subsequently to Article 5.3 Guidelines being agreed in Durban in November 2008 | |
| Imperial Tobacco letter to the House of Lords in the UK, 28 April 2009 | After explaining that an amendment has been submitted to a Health Bill, “to establish a review of the government’s policies on engagement with the tobacco industry in line with Article 5.3,” Imperial Tobacco’s letter claims that: “This amendment is completely opposed to the general principles of Better Regulation that were documented in 2006 […] Governments must acknowledge that to be effective, consultation must start as early as possible. Interested parties should therefore be involved in the development of a policy at an early stage.”7 |
*BusinessEurope’s members are European Member State national federations of industries. The UK federation is the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). BAT is a member of the CBI and has a history of working closely with it. The current president of the CBI is Martin Broughton, who was chair of BAT from 1998–2004.