PRESENTATION ON BEHALF OF VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATION IN THE INTEREST OF EDUCATION (VOICE), NEW DELHI, INDIA

ABOUT VOICE

VOICE (Voluntary Organization in the Interest of ) is functioning for its office at F - 71, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi–110 024, India. It is actively involved in the comparative testing of consumer products for consumer awareness and education. VOICE generates and disseminates the information to Indian for informed decisions while buying consumer products. VOICE was established in the year 1983 and was registered in 1986 as a Voluntary non-profit, non- political consumer group. It was registered as a public charitable trust and subsequently registered as a ‘Recognized Consumer Association’ under the MRTPC Act.

As a full member of , VOICE has been actively involved on various consumer issues globally and at the national level in India. It has shown demonstrative results in various areas of consumer welfare.

VOICE has been involved in fighting against tobacco since 1984, when it sued the British American Tobacco (BAT) group’s Indian Subsidiary seeking to restrain its ‘Made for Each Other’ advertising campaign promoting a particular brand of cigarettes. Since then it never looked back and has been advocating strong action against promotion of tobacco consumption in India and other developing countries. It has convinced the 1200 consumer groups in India to work actively on this issue. At present, in association with the Regional Office for Asia & Pacific of the Consumers International in Malaysia, VOICE is working on an action plan for mobilizing resources to bring together the consumer groups. The final strategy will be developed at the forthcoming Consumers International World Congress scheduled to be held in Durban, South Africa from 13-17 November 2000. Consumer representatives will attend this world congress from about 250 consumer organizations from all over the World to finalize the action plan for the developing countries on how to combat the tobacco epidemic.

Their members, Government of India, Non-Profit Trusts, Charity Foundations and other bilateral agency fund VOICE. It never takes any grant from Industry or profit driven private organizations. The major source of income is from executing projects on supported by Government of India. It also raises fund through sale of magazines.

INTRODUCTION

VOICE decided to participate in the WHO’s Public hearings as it considers tobacco as a lethal product. It is the only Consumer Product that kills users when used exactly as intended by the manufacturers. The tobacco industry has violated and deny basic Consumer rights viz. Right to information, right to safe products, right to a healthy environment and right to compensation and redress. The tobacco industry uses scandalous marketing practices to push tobacco to the consumers increasingly.

Consumer groups all over the world have voiced over the increasing hold of the tobacco industry in developing countries. India, it says, may be heading for a tobacco epidemic. One-fifth of the 28-lakh person who dies each year the world over due to tobacco related diseases are Indians. Nearly 50 per cent of Indian males over the age of 15 are smokers, says another study commissioned, by WHO, which was released this year during the No-Tobacco Day event. Use of tobacco in other products is increasing. An Indian case in point being the 1992 ‘Kasturi Udyog, Bundi and others Vs the Union of India and others’ case. Here the ban on use of tobacco in toothpaste and toothpowder was held to be fair by the Rajasthan High Court after a petition was filed because an amendment in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, barred manufacturers from using tobacco as one of the ingredients in toothpaste and toothpowder. Kastoori Udyog sought relief from the Rajasthan High Court demanding that respondent (Govt. of India) not interfere with the trade or business of the petitioners regarding Kastoori Manjan. The petitioners had been manufacturing Kastoori Manjan for more than 20 years. This ‘manjan’ was being used as an ayurvedic medicine for several tooth ailments. The Director, Ayurved Department, had granted a license in favour of the petitioner. The Rajasthan High Court ruled that the possibility of a risk being posed to human lives was enough to let the Central Government prohibit manufacture of drug containing tobacco. Consequently the High Court also directed the Central Government to appoint a committee of experts to deliberate the use of tobacco in pan masala, gutka etc., all these being openly sold in the market as mouth fresheners and easily accessible to users of all ages. The said committee has recommended a ban, which has not been enforced so far, and the issue is pending consideration by Group of Ministers for over 2 years.

It Could Be Worst Than Hiroshima:

With 55,000 Indian children getting addicted to tobacco every year, India has 240-million tobacco users-nearly one-third of the 0.8 billion tobacco users in the developing world. At a consultation meeting held in New Delhi had identified how teenagers were being picked up as the most attractive customers, with well-defined strategies to appeal to them. (“ The teenage years are the most important because those are the years during which most smokers begin to smoke. The years in which initial brand selections are made and the period in the life cycle in which conformity to peer group norms is greatest”. One of the tobacco industries was quoted as saying during a meeting to discuss promotion of its sales as reported by one of the leading newspapers of India. )

A 17-years-old student of a government school Pawan Kumar underwent an emergency angioplasty after he suffered a massive heart attack. Pawan had been smoking since he was 10. There may be many more Pawans in the developing countries that are dying unreported due to poverty and illiteracy. The figures are quire alarming. Though we all know some school students smoke, the fact that even 12-years-old were into the habit is most shocking. Undoubtedly there is a growing incidence of cigarette smoking among school children but the average age for acquiring the habit is also coming down rapidly. In schools and collages, their smoker friend offers non-smokers cigarettes and they usually accept to avoid being ridiculed. About 21 percent of the students said a friend either in school or at a get-together outside had offered them a cigarette. Besides in India, cigarettes are easily available and accessible to anybody, irrespective of the age, unlike in the developed countries, selling cigarettes to a person below 18 years is a crime and vendors often ask for an identity card if they suspect the buyer is below 18 years. Besides, cigarettes are quite cheap in India and students can easily purchase a packet from their pocket money. Obviously this questionable hobby can only lead to dire consequences. The study also indicated that those who begin to smoke in their mid-teens and gradually increase their daily intake are likely to get lung cancer by the time they are in their mid- thirties. It takes about 20 years of regular smoking to contract cancer but to those who begin very early, it may take lesser time. Moreover, smoking may give these students hypertension, heart disease, recurrent lung infections, ear infections, asthma and cough says the AIIMS doctors' team.

The Silent Promotion:

In India while the cigarettes are sold with a statutory health warning, the humble bidi, which sells 700 trillion units per annum among the poor masses in the country, do not carry any indication that the smoking it could be injurious to health. None of the branded bidis sold extensively in the local markets like Jashvant Chhap Telephone, Shivaji, Sambhaji, Desai, Charbhai, No 30, No 501 Mangalore Ganesh beedi, Yevla, Hiralal Chhap special and others carry any warning about the dangers of smoking. In fact some of the bidi manufacturers print in bold letters "Anand-dayak dhumrapana ke liye" (for smoking pleasure) on the packs. Surprisingly, some of the State Governments, which took lead in controlling the sale of gutkha and other forms of tobacco, are blind towards bidis being sold without statutory warnings.

When ITC (British American Tobacco Group) came out with the “Made For Each Other (MFEO)” contest, VOICE immediately recognized the onset of subliminal advertising by tobacco companies in India. Consumers were being enticed to smoke by projecting WILLS cigarette smokers as an exclusive, fashionable and attractive club of young glamorous people. It was a dangerous ploy, which could have far-reaching and adverse consequences. VOICE, a recognized consumer association working for consumer protection in India, was able to see through that and filed a petition against ITC in this regard. The objective was to uncover ITC’s intentions and to warn consumers about the unhealthy trend.

On 20.11.84 VOICE filed a complaint against the ITC, before the MRTP commission regarding unfair trade practices in context of the ‘Made for Each Other’ (MFEO) contest within the meaning of Section 36A(3) of the newly amended Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act. VOICE contended that the contest was an unfair trade practice” under the newly amended Act. The impugned trade practice abets non-smokers to take up smoking in order to enter the contest and promotes the image that WILLS cigarette and smokers are as perfectly matched as the couples selected in MFEO contest. The contest was advertised as a unique social event with the sole purpose of promoting smoking and consequently as a result causing loss or injury to the health of those who smoke cigarettes. The company contended that it had been carrying on this contest for over a decade to focus on the uniqueness of the link between filter and tobacco.

The case is now poised in an interesting situation. The MRTP Commission has held the contest to be an unfair trade practice but not prejudicial to public interest. The case is still being contested in the Supreme Court. The verdict will have far reaching consequences to the understanding of what issues amounts to being prejudicial to public interest.

WHAT CAN BE DONE

The campaign against tobacco consumption must be looked at as a Human Rights issue.

In order to minimize the use of this lethal product, Consumer Groups all over the world need to respond to this alarming situation on a global basis and appear before Human Rights Commissions. There is a need to create a network of consumer organization and their allies to increase and accelerate their work on anti tobacco over the next few days. This has become urgent as the Civil Society has started questioning the role of consumer groups on such issues and have started asking about the measurers adopted to build public awareness and persuade their respective governments to extend their support for a WHO led global treaty on tobacco control. There is a need to sensitize, educate and build capacity among consumer groups and their allies to address tobacco industry tactics to resist national and global actions to control tobacco and to subvert national and international policy development. We call on WHO and Member States to take urgent action: 1. Protocol on Tobacco Advertising and Promotions :

The FCTC should call for a global and total ban on all forms of advertising and promotions of tobacco products and tobacco brand names via any media. The commercial use of a registered tobacco brand name, logo, or trademark should also be banned. Sponsorship of sports, music, cultural events, adventures, or any event or the telecast of an event by tobacco brands must be banned. Advertising can be defined as any notice, circular, posters, wall papers, pamphlets, display on hoarding or any visible representation made by means of light, sound, gas, writing instrument, stickers, symbols, colours, logo, trademark symbol, display on articles such as T- shirts, caps, bags, counters, clocks, umbrellas, mugs, etc. This global and total ban on advertising and promotions of tobacco products and its brand names must be instituted as law in every country.

2. Divestment from Tobacco by Governments

In a number of countries public funds earmarked for financing industrial and economic development are invested in tobacco companies. National industrial finance infrastructure, bilateral and multilateral lending agencies provide lines of industrial credit that is also available to tobacco companies. In some countries tobacco companies are either under the control of Government or partly/wholly owned by Government. In such a situation policy intervention is necessary to prevent deployment of industrial development funds and capital in tobacco companies. This means that national industrial development/finance institutions must stop further investments in those industries. Where substantial investments or lending has been made it should be rolled back. A divestment policy needs to be followed in all such cases. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) needs to call upon national governments, central banks, financial institutions as well as bilateral, regional and multilateral development finance institutions, organisations, mechanisms to stop further investments/lending to the industry and roll back existing investments over a time-bound period. World Bank and other financial institutions can also use their clout in pressuring the different governments to dispose of their stake in tobacco industry by linking further aid with such people friendly legislation.

3. Anti-Trust Role of Business:

Many developing countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa do not have adequate legal mechanism to control anti-competitive practices of business. In the developing countries where such mechanisms exist they are quite ineffective (e.g. India). As a result tobacco companies are able to consolidate their market power by a variety of anti-competitive mechanism. These include anti- competitive merger, amalgamations, take-overs, full line pricing, resale price maintenance and a host of other anti-competitive practices. In many cases tobacco companies can enter developing country markets, buyout and/or take-over competition or displace it. It can also consolidate hold over markets and expand market penetration to increase sales of tobacco products.

While the development and evolution of rational anti-trust laws will take its own time, there is need to impose these laws on tobacco multinationals in their cross border activity. The American anti-trust law is among the most advanced in the world. What American tobacco companies are unable to do at home, being constrained by Anti-Trust Laws, they indulge with impunity in the developing countries. This is a sound case for applying US anti trust law upon US tobacco Companies in their anti-competitive behaviour in a developing country. The principle is “What the tobacco company can’t do at home, it should not be allowed to do in a foreign country”. Similarly, The European Commission rules of anti-Competitive behaviour can be applied to European Tobacco Multinationals in developing countries. This principle of cross-border application of anti-trust rules against tobacco companies can become an important instrument in controlling the market power being accumulated by business.

4. Government Support to NGO Activities

The biggest challenge that the anti-tobacco movement has to face, is social acceptability of tobacco. The local NGOs working against tobacco must co-ordinate their activities with NGOs working in other areas like education, environment, family welfare, media etc. operating in the same region (city, village, state). Such a sub-national grouping of NGOs must then co-ordinate its activities with other similar groups within the country and establishes a national network. This will facilitate easier co-ordination of activities with the NGOs outside the country. The national networks of different countries must then connect with each other to form a regional network, which will ultimately be connected to a global network. Such an approach is probably the only way NGOs can become a formidable force. The tobacco industry has been successful in its different tactics because it is a well-co-ordinated and organised team. NGOs will have to form a parallel lobby to take on the tobacco industry.

NGOs will have to be supported to help them strengthen their information channels. By networking, NGOs will be able to transfer more information amongst them and will be in a position to counter the industry’s attempt to confuse people about tobacco. This support can be extended to the NGOs by bodies like WHO. Governments will need to support such activity on a proactive basis.

5. Seek Co-operation from Stake Holders

All the stakeholders need to be addressed individually and specific empowering techniques should be identified for them, especially those of NGOs. Stake holders such as the governments will have to be persuaded to work for improving the quality of daily life for the common man in areas of education, health, environment, markets, controlled industry, pro-people legislation etc. Especially in the Asian context the consumers have to be empowered to know and exercise their basic rights.

We are determined and shall make sure we are heard. The exploitation of the poor and disadvantaged consumer will no longer be tolerated. Strong action will emerge on its own, to protect the rights of consumers. The One billion people of India are with you to fight against tobacco consumption, which has led to high scale Human Rights violation. This public hearing is only a beginning, we seek support to fight the biggest epidemic.

Prepared by Prof. Sr. Ram Khanna & Mr. Bejon Misra on Behalf of VOICE, India, New Delhi

31.08.2000