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• Draft international anti-tobacco treaty is a compromise but has teeth, chairman says 

The world's first ever anti-tobacco treaty looks to be far weaker than originally envisaged, with the emphasis on gradual and flexible measures rather than tough action like cigarette price hikes and blanket advertising bans.

But on the eve of a new and decisive round of talks, negotiating chairman Luis Felipe de Seixas Correa said Monday he had drawn up a draft accord that was a balance between public health ideals and political and commercial realities.

"This represents the middle ground," said Correa, a Brazilian ambassador. But he claimed the "text has a lot of teeth."

Health activists said the document was weak and would have little impact on lessening the death toll from smoking, which stands at an estimated 4.9 million people per year and is expected to soar to well over 10 million by 2030.

"The treaty should be strong enough to eliminate the Marlboro Man," said Kathryn Mulvey of the U.S. campaign group Infact.

Mulvey said her group was "deeply disappointed" that the emerging treaty fell well short of that. Infact and other non-governmental groups have accused the United States, Japan and Germany -- all of whom have powerful tobacco lobbies -- of trying to undermine it.

Activists claim that Correa's text puts trade before health. This is because of a clause stating that nothing in the convention shall infringe on rights under existing international treaties -- like those governing the World Trade Organization.

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For this convention to be effective, it has to be relevant from the public health point of view and command universal adherence. If it doesn't, then no matter how strongly we word the articles, it won't be effective.
Negotiating chairman Luis Felipe de Seixas Correa, whose FCTC draft accord is considered intolerably weak by many.