Global tobacco body for ‘balance’ at the WHO meet in November

The International Tobacco Growers Association has said that India should do its bit in ensuring that the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) it is hosting in November this year has the participation of all stake-holders, including growers.

“Tobacco is much more than a health issue. Measures impacting tobacco cultivation and tobacco farmers cannot be decided only by health officials and activists and requires the participation of tobacco growers and other stakeholders, including related ministries,” said ITGA President Francois Van Der Merwe in an interaction with BusinessLine .

The global tobacco industry body’s members from North America, South America, India, Europe, Africa, South Africa and Indonesia are in New Delhi for a two-day seminar ahead of the FCTC.

The WHO FCTC is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health and asserts the importance of demand reduction strategies as well as supply issues.

Not invited “Despite several representations from the ITGA, the FCTC is not allowing us to participate in the meeting. We represent more than 30 million tobacco farmers. There are six million growers in India. You want to regulate us without consulting us. It is not right,” he said.

ITGA is not against reasonable regulations, which can be imposed after discussing their implications on people’s lives, Merwe said. “But one must remember that adoption of extreme measures at the WHO meet will directly and severely affect the livelihood of millions of tobacco farmers and farm workers around the world.”

Since India is the world’s biggest democracy, the ITGA says it is hopeful that the country would do its bit in ensuring that all stakeholders, including tobacco growers, are allowed to participate.

“We are here in India to show solidarity with tobacco farmers in the country and to send a strong message to WHO saying that you cannot have a meeting in India and have us outside of the room,” Merwe said.

ITGA has asked all its delegates to ask their governments to send delegations that are balanced to the WHO meeting, starting on November 7.

“Tobacco is a product that concerns millions of farmers, generates revenue for the government and is highly traded. The delegations sent to the meeting should include representatives of all sectors, including health, agriculture, trade and finance,” Merwe said.

COMMENT NOW