FCTC Off to Good Start

By ELIZABETH OLSON

GENEVA, Oct. 21 — In an atmosphere of unexpected harmony, officials representing nearly 150 governments laid the groundwork this week for a new global treaty that aims to control tobacco use and stamp out adolescent smoking.

          The World Health Organization is pushing for a strong international
          accord with the goal of finalizing a treaty by 2003. The United Nations
          agency, which has made eradicating smoking the centerpiece of its global
          public health strategy, wants the treaty to ban multinational tobacco
          corporations from advertising and sponsoring sports events, increase
          taxes to make cigarettes more expensive, combat cigarette smuggling and
          introduce measures to stem the rise in adolescent smoking.

          At the end of the six-day negotiating session, the chairman of the talks,
          Celso Amorim of Brazil, a tobacco exporter, warned that working out
          the details to come up with a treaty in two years might be tougher than it
          appeared right now.

          Tobacco use, according to W.H.O. statistics, kills four million people
          annually and threatens to claim a yearly toll of 10 million by 2030.

          During the six-day opening negotiations, nations were almost unanimous
          in calling for a ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorships. Countries as
          diverse as Sri Lanka, Trinidad, Thailand and Turkey, another tobacco
          grower, supported barring advertising. The American government was in
          the middle. "We stop short of supporting a complete ban," said top
          American negotiator, Dr. Thomas Novotny, of the Department of Health
          and Human Services. Such a prohibition would run afoul of free speech
          guarantees.

          Even though a few countries, including Australia, already bar such
          advertising, a blanket ban is likely to raise free trade concerns. Earlier this
          month, the European Court of Justice ruled against the European Union's
          planned ban on grounds it blocked free movement of goods and services.
          television in numerous countries.

          Antismoking groups said American negotiators had advocated tougher
          stands than anticipated. The American Lung Society praised American
          officials for backing measures against passive smoking in facilities for
          children, as well as in cafes, bars and restaurants. "Our model is
          California," Mr. Novotny, a physician, said. Only California and Vermont
          have sweeping bans on public smoking.

         Anti-tobacco groups are urging a treaty provision that would require the
          companies to disclose their political activities, as well as the amounts they
          spend on such lobbying efforts.

          Among the tougher measures to be considered is a plan that the
          jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice be expanded to decide
          whether tobacco companies have committed crimes against humanity.