| Saturday, June 2, 2007 |
| In Washington for FCTC. |
To draw the attention of the world to the failure of the US government to
ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and to highlight
the double standards of the US government with regard to tobacco, Hemant
Goswami, social activist and chairperson of the India based NGO Burning
Brain Society conducted a day long hunger fast and sit-in outside the White
House in Washington DC.
To date, 147 countries have ratified the FCTC, thereby making it legally
binding ona them to regulate the tobacco industry. U.S. signed the treaty,
but probably under the influence of the tobacco industry, the Bush
Administration has thus far refused to send it to the U.S. Senate for
ratification, as required by the U.S. Constitution.
In recognition that children have a right to live in a healthy world and
that U.S. policies pertaining to tobacco have a worldwide impact, Goswami
also called on the U.S. to end tobacco industry political donations,
prohibit people with tobacco industry ties from participating in public
health and economic policy formulation, and exclude tobacco from
international trade treaties.
Mr. Hemant said, “It’s an irony of the civilized world, that sheer greed
and political patronage has allowed unabated commercial trade of a deadly
product like tobacco. For petty individual commercial gains, shortsighted
politicians have shirked their responsibility of ensuring common welfare
and protecting the people from one of the largest preventable cause of
death, disease and disability in the world. By not acting against tobacco,
these politician-traders are trading the health and lives of our children
for fistful of money.”
Tobacco products currently kill 5 million people worldwide annually, a
death toll that the World Health Organization projects will double to 10
million annually. 70 percent of these deaths shall take place in low-income
countries by 2025.
The open petition to President Bush further mentions that “The policies of
the United States impact all nations worldwide. When the United States
chooses to protect the health of the tobacco industry over that of people,
at home and abroad, it is in violation against the most basic principles of
humanity and is detrimental to global public health objectives. Economic
wellbeing should enhance public welfare, not rob people of it.”
“It is an accident that tobacco became a legal product; but in the light of
the current scientific evidence we must rectify this mistake,” Hemant
emphasized.
(Anna White, Katie Kemper and friends were also present for the White House
Protest)
* GPO Box 137, General Post Office, Sector 17, Chandigarh 160
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* Glass Office 3, Business Arcade, Shivalikview, Sector 17,
Chandigarh 160 017 INDIA
Telephone: +91-172-5165555, 5185600 E-Mail: info(Embedded
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www.burningbrain.org
Send your doing's to aware.cancer@gmail.comLabels: FCTC, Washington |
posted by Cancer Awareness @ 12:49 PM   |
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