Byrne adamant in refusal to smoke peace pipe with tobacco firms

By Karen Carstens

Date: 18/12/03

TO DAVID Byrne, talking with big tobacco types is a waste of breath.

The health and consumer protection commissioner, an anti-smoking crusader who would like to push through an EU-wide ban on smoking in bars and workplaces, recently repeated his vow to eschew meetings with cigarette manufacturers altogether.

Thorsten Münch, Byrne's spokesman, said the Irishman did receive a few industry representatives when he first took office in autumn 1999.

But, Byrne soon found them frustrating, seeing as he "wants to clamp down on that business and they want to sell their products to consumers - including young people", explained Münch.

The figures are grim - eight out of ten people start smoking between the ages of 12 and 18, and half-a-million die annually of smoking-related diseases.

"So they must, by necessity, advertise to attract a new clientele," said Münch. "And if 80% of smokers are hooked as teens, it is easier to target this audience."

It is also less expensive for the tobacco industry "to woo over youths than adults" via targeted advertising campaigns.

Münch cited one recent campaign by German cigarette manufacturers, where a "raised finger" was used to tell kids not to smoke until they were at least 18, or legal adults. "And how do kids usually react when you tell them not to do something? Wouldn't that just make them want to try cigarettes even more?"

The tobacco industry, "acts as if smoking is only the decision of informed adults and that is simply humbug", he added.

Tim Lord, chief executive of the UK's Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, said Byrne is "not alone" in snubbing cigarette corporations. "UK health ministers do the same," he said. "But why would they not talk to us? We are one of the important stakeholders and should be part of the debate. There are areas where we could find common ground, including smoking in public places, children and smoking and cigarette smuggling."

Even Henry Waxman, a California Congressman who has fought big tobacco for years in Washington, made some positive comments about "how much we could agree on" after meeting industry leaders recently.

But Waxman still posts punchy anti-smoking tracts on his website, including statements such as: "In light of what is known about the deleterious health effects of tobacco, cigarette advertising is the moral equivalent of a national campaign to 'Drive Drunk - Just for the Fun of It'."

Byrne, who has applauded US efforts to clamp down on smoking in public places, would surely approve.

Marlboro-maker Philip Morris, however, proudly posts on its website the progress of its own anti-smoking youth campaign, featuring ads on MTV proclaiming that you can still be "cool" even if you do not smoke.

These ads might actually be even "cooler" than the European Commission's own "Feel free to say no" campaign (maybe a few savvy spin doctors could come up with a catchier slogan for a new round of EU-funded adverts?).

But Byrne and other officials would certainly dismiss them as little more than a smokescreen for big tobacco's "real" advertising activities. So would the World Health Organization, which has honoured Byrne for his anti-smoking efforts.

David Byrne, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection has repeated his vow not to meet with cigarette manufacturers.