Tobacco.org

LETTER: Tobacco should be excluded from free trade agreement 

This week the European Union and the South American trading bloc Mercosur will continue negotiations towards a free trade agreement. We call on negotiators to place health before trade, by excluding tobacco from the agreement.

Every day, doctors see the deadly effects of tobacco. In the Doctors' Manifesto for Global Tobacco Control, more than 130 national medical associations united to call on governments and international bodies to take decisive action to tackle the tobacco pandemic. While trade liberalisation can bring benefits, free trade in tobacco leads to increased consumption.3 This inevitably leads to more tobacco related illness and death. . . .

Negotiators from the European Union and Mercosur must act to protect the future health generations by excluding tobacco from this agreement. Such action would not only show leadership but would set an important precedent for future trade agreements, whether bilateral, regional, or international.

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