Frank Davis has covered this important international treaty this morning here, including a startling map showing countries that have so far ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (even though much land is covered that has very low population levels). As usual, his readers follow up with further enlightening links.
Frank rightly points out that this treaty binds its members to certain courses of action regarding tobacco, which is one reason that it will be difficult to make governments backtrack on the smoking ban or other related legislation. They consider their FCTC treaty obligations bind them more than loyalty to their electorates.
He is also correct to point out section 5.3 (links and quotes provided), which seeks to stop tobacco industry interference (for 'tobacco industry', read 'anyone that disagrees with it'). Such clauses explain, for example, why tobacco growers were excluded from the recent COP-4 tobacco talks in Uruguay – they were a dangerous distraction from the issues being discussed.
It can't be emphasised too much how important such international agreements are in making it an uphill struggle even to talk properly about the smoking ban (never mind fight it). They do actually undermine governments' relationships with their people, by destroying the normal course of political accountability.
Reconciling different interests in society is essentially a perennial problem. Not being a student of international relations, I don't know how much international agreements help to keep the peace internationally. But this one seems to be bad news all round. In spite of all its claims to be about health, representatives from a very poor sector in society, tobacco farmers, were excluded from a major global conference that threatened their livelihoods, while those from the richer sections of society dominate the scene, claiming to represent the interests of such poorer people. It still astonishes me that the first multilateral treaty created by the World Health Organisation is about smoking, rather than communicable diseases suffered by the poorest in global society. Can it be because the poor struggle to afford drugs, while rich countries can be duped into spending billions of dollars on anti-smoking treatments?
4 comments:
"It still astonishes me that the first multilateral treaty created by the World Health Organisation is about smoking, rather than communicable diseases suffered by the poorest in global society."
It reminds me of three "public service" (paid by the taxpayer by way of quango/fake-charity) posters hanging side by side, all three, in the San Francisco Muni subway main downtown stations last summer.
Poster #1 was all red and orange graphics, done up in the style of a Soviet propaganda drawing, showing "comrades" waving flags and simply stating "Fighting AIDS is Like Fighting Racism". (The poster didn't indicate to abstain from unsafe sex or using condoms, just that it was an extension of the left political thrust to give a skance bare look to the cause of a true health problem and downplay it more as a "political" problem.)
Poster #2, to the immediate right, showed close-ups of some medical things in all blue and white fluffy cloudy mist and had the message, "It's What You Don't Know About Stem Cell Research That Can Hurt You", also quango-produced and going on to extoll the virtues of what is being done with the left-over by-products of all those millions of abortions performed yearly, mainly among the lower classes - and of course making no mention and leaving "Not Known" that the abortion industry is of course required, to obtain those precious stem-cells.
Poster #3, to the right of that, was from an anti-smoking quango, not that SF doesn't have it's full share of them - and it showed someone sitting outside a cafe in an outdoor seating area with No-Smoking signs and of course everything picture-perfect, with the message, "Smoke-Free San Francisco" - to impart the message that THIS, THIS SMOKE-"FREE" is the REAL "health danger".
So there you have it.
"Fighting" AIDS (but not really doing anything to stop it) and aborting babies (primarily among the poor) are all "good" things, to be applauded - nothing to do with health, though it obviously IS, but the distraction is made clear.
Then, next to it, the REAL message they wish to get across, distract everyone from the OBVIOUS, by instead, demeaning "smokers" as the "real threat" to "health" in this city.
That is how the UN anti-tobacco treaty is set up to operate - to enforce total intolerance toward "smokers" and "tobacco" - and using that as a subliminal message to distract everyone away from the REAL health issues - like malaria in Africa, AIDS worldwide, promotion of abortions and soon euthansia - to make everyone think that malria, AIDS, abortion and euthansia don't really kill anyone, only smoking does.
And it's working. People, for the most part, hear the propaganda, which the campaigns are intertwined and being coordinated high up - and they fall for the bait, hook, line and sinker.
It's going to be a miserable, horrible, corrupted world once they manage to get their way about it and tobacco is made illegal.
Mark my words, that is the direction they are moving in - and anti-smoking is a prime propaganda force behind this drive toward the one-world and undemocratic, unelected world dictatorship, just around the corner.
That little puff of smoke people once saw in their pubs and cafes, that little puff was their INSURANCE - that their liberties would not be destroyed. Now, with that gone, their liberties WILL be destroyed. People have allowed and invited this evil into the world of their own accord - and there will be hell to pay for it, in the end.
Their children and grand-children, at some point, will grow up to hate the anti-smokers of this day and age for the wrath they have brought upon the generations yet to come.
Posting for Anonymous. The post didn't go up so I am splitting it.
----------------------------------
"It still astonishes me that the first multilateral treaty created by the World Health Organisation is about smoking, rather than communicable diseases suffered by the poorest in global society."
It reminds me of three "public service" (paid by the taxpayer by way of quango/fake-charity) posters hanging side by side, all three, in the San Francisco Muni subway main downtown stations last summer.
Poster #1 was all red and orange graphics, done up in the style of a Soviet propaganda drawing, showing "comrades" waving flags and simply stating "Fighting AIDS is Like Fighting Racism". (The poster didn't indicate to abstain from unsafe sex or using condoms, just that it was an extension of the left political thrust to give a skance bare look to the cause of a true health problem and downplay it more as a "political" problem.)
Poster #2, to the immediate right, showed close-ups of some medical things in all blue and white fluffy cloudy mist and had the message, "It's What You Don't Know About Stem Cell Research That Can Hurt You", also quango-produced and going on to extoll the virtues of what is being done with the left-over by-products of all those millions of abortions performed yearly, mainly among the lower classes - and of course making no mention and leaving "Not Known" that the abortion industry is of course required, to obtain those precious stem-cells.
Poster #3, to the right of that, was from an anti-smoking quango, not that SF doesn't have it's full share of them - and it showed someone sitting outside a cafe in an outdoor seating area with No-Smoking signs and of course everything picture-perfect, with the message, "Smoke-Free San Francisco" - to impart the message that THIS, THIS SMOKE-"FREE" is the REAL "health danger". ctd. >>
<< ctd.
So there you have it.
"Fighting" AIDS (but not really doing anything to stop it) and aborting babies (primarily among the poor) are all "good" things, to be applauded - nothing to do with health, though it obviously IS, but the distraction is made clear.
Then, next to it, the REAL message they wish to get across, distract everyone from the OBVIOUS, by instead, demeaning "smokers" as the "real threat" to "health" in this city.
That is how the UN anti-tobacco treaty is set up to operate - to enforce total intolerance toward "smokers" and "tobacco" - and using that as a subliminal message to distract everyone away from the REAL health issues - like malaria in Africa, AIDS worldwide, promotion of abortions and soon euthansia - to make everyone think that malria, AIDS, abortion and euthansia don't really kill anyone, only smoking does.
And it's working. People, for the most part, hear the propaganda, which the campaigns are intertwined and being coordinated high up - and they fall for the bait, hook, line and sinker.
It's going to be a miserable, horrible, corrupted world once they manage to get their way about it and tobacco is made illegal.
Mark my words, that is the direction they are moving in - and anti-smoking is a prime propaganda force behind this drive toward the one-world and undemocratic, unelected world dictatorship, just around the corner.
That little puff of smoke people once saw in their pubs and cafes, that little puff was their INSURANCE - that their liberties would not be destroyed. Now, with that gone, their liberties WILL be destroyed. People have allowed and invited this evil into the world of their own accord - and there will be hell to pay for it, in the end.
Their children and grand-children, at some point, will grow up to hate the anti-smokers of this day and age for the wrath they have brought upon the generations yet to come.
That's a hefty contribution, Anonymous. I agree there will be hell to pay but is it going to take two generations? Aren't people waking up yet?
Post a Comment