Response - Unfairtobacco.org

Unfairtobacco.org
Every tobacco is unfair tobacco*
c/o BLUE 21 • Gneisenaustr. 2a • 10961 Berlin • tel 49-(0)30-694 6101 • fax 49-(0)30-692 6590 • info@unfairtobacco.org
Response to the Secretary General's Synthesis Report on the Post-2015 Development Agenda
Unfairtobacco.org, being part of the German NGO Berlin Working Group Environment and Development
(BLUE 21), welcomes the synthesis report by the Secretary General and takes the opportunity to provide a
reaction to it. Unfairtobacco.org has been working on development and human rights issues of tobacco
consumption and production since 2004.
The report takes into account the global epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which has taken
up speed in the past decade. Rates are rising extremely fast in low- and middle-income countries, where the
major burden of disease and death has shifted from infectious diseases to NCDs. Nearly 80% of NCD related
deaths occur in low-and middle-income countries, impeding sustainable development at a household and
national level.1
We welcome the inclusion of the burden of NCDs within the health priorities in the report, because
immediate action is necessary to reduce the prevalence of NCDs and exposure to the risk factors as well as
socioeconomic determinants that drive these diseases. Otherwise, the right to health will remain out of
reach for the majority of people.
Tobacco use is a major preventable cause of disease and death in the world. It is the only major risk factor
that causes all four of the major categories of non-communicable diseases – heart disease, cancer, diabetes,
and (chronic) lung diseases. Tobacco use kills over 6 million people each year, the overwhelming majority in
the Global South.2 But only promoting healthy behaviour (i.e. decreasing tobacco use), as the Secretary
general rightfully states, is by far not enough to address this global epidemic.
Tobacco growing has shifted to low- and middle-income countries in the past decades. There,
approximately 90% of the worldwide traded tobacco is grown. Tobacco occupies more than 4 million
hectares of arable land, on which food for approx. 20 million people could be grown instead. 3 Furthermore,
tobacco curing contributes significantly to tropical deforestation, especially affecting the Miombo
woodlands ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa.4
Tobacco use is perpetuated by globalization and efforts directed towards economic growth, while at the
same time representing a source of health and economic inequities and an imminent obstacle to
sustainable development. Additionally, tobacco growing and cigarette production contributes to a great
extent to the ecological burden of our planet and deepens economic inequities and dependencies in
tobacco growing countries. Even more generally speaking, tobacco consumption and production patterns
are seriously affecting human rights on a large scale.
1
2
3
4
WHO 2010: Global status report on noncommunicable diseases. Geneva. WHO.
WHO 2011: WHO Report on the global tobacco epidemic. Geneva. WHO.
Graen, L. 2014: Doppelte Last. Tabak im Globalen Süden. Berlin. BLUE 21:22.
Leppan, W., N. Lecours, D. Buckles 2014: Tobacco Control and Tobacco Farming. Separating Myth from Reality.
New York/Ottawa. Anthem Press: 123ff.
* Es kann keinen fair gehandelten Tabak geben. Tabakanbau schädigt die Gesundheit, zerstört die Umwelt und führt zu Menschenrechtsverletzungen.
BLUE 21 • GLS Bank • IBAN: DE81 4306 0967 1124 5708 00 • BIC: GENODEM1GLS • Verwendung: Unfairtobacco.org
Unfairtobacco.org
Every tobacco is unfair tobacco*
c/o BLUE 21 • Gneisenaustr. 2a • 10961 Berlin • tel 49-(0)30-694 6101 • fax 49-(0)30-692 6590 • info@unfairtobacco.org
Apart from its health impact, tobacco is an obstruction to nearly all Sustainable Development Goals
proposed by the Open Working Group, particularly to achieving the following:
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Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable
agriculture
Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all
Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment and decent work for all
Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably
manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity
loss
In order to reduce the burden of disease and death due to tobacco use, as well as the associated negative
impacts of tobacco production, countries must implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control. The FCTC has been included in the Open Working Group’s proposal for SDGs as a means of
implementation target under the health goal; however it has not been mentioned in the Secretary General’s
report. The OWG’s proposal states:
“Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.”
“3a. strengthen implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries as
appropriate.”
It is imperative that target 3a remains in the text of the SDGs. The treaty contains a comprehensive set of
tobacco control policies that are key to prevention and are proven to be successful in low, middle, and high
income countries. Furthermore, the treaty contains commitments to support alternative livelihoods to
tobacco growing.
The FCTC is an existing legally binding public health treaty in the UN system. This encompasses the
purpose of “means of implementation”, which aims to build on existing commitments and governance
structures. In addition, by implementing the FCTC, it could provide a source of revenue to finance the SDGs
through tobacco taxes.
We hope that in the coming months the Secretary General and Member States will acknowledge the
importance of the FCTC and tobacco control within the post-2015 development agenda, not just in the
health context, but from a sustainable development perspective.
* Es kann keinen fair gehandelten Tabak geben. Tabakanbau schädigt die Gesundheit, zerstört die Umwelt und führt zu Menschenrechtsverletzungen.
BLUE 21 • GLS Bank • IBAN: DE81 4306 0967 1124 5708 00 • BIC: GENODEM1GLS • Verwendung: Unfairtobacco.org