Tobacco and Public Health - TCSC Indonesia

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF LEGISLATION TO CONTROL THE TOBACCO EPIDEMIC
The Finnish Committee concluded that unless the real price of cigarettes is raised
and unless the price is raised repeatedly and keeps pace with inflation, there will
be no decline in smoking (Finland, Advisory Committee on Health Education
1985).
Contributing to the movement for stronger legislation was the support of international
bodies that had joined WHO in calling for restrictions on promotion of tobacco.
In 1972, the Nordic Council of Ministers had recommended to its members—
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden—that cigarette advertising be
banned and public information campaigns on the dangers of tobacco be launched,
with special attention to preventing smoking by young people (Nordic Council of
Ministers 1972). In 1973, the Council of Europe recommended that advertising of
tobacco and alcohol in newspapers, on television and radio, and in theatres be banned
(Council of Europe 1973). The movement for regional action continued. In 1986, the
Council of the European Communities, in adopting a program of action against cancer,
called for development of measures to limit and reduce the use of tobacco as a first
priority (Council of the European Communities 1986). Following up on this resolution,
in 1989 the Council of Ministers of Health of the Member States of the European
Community urged Member States to ban smoking in public places and public transport
(Council of the European Communities 1989). A historic but failed advance
occurred in July 1988 when the European Parliament voted to ban all tobacco advertising
and sponsorship in the 15 countries of the European Union, effective 2006, but on
5 October 2000 the Court of Justice of the European Community annulled this directive
(Federal Republic of Germany vs. European Parliament and Council of the European
Union 2000).
The greatest breakthrough in achieving the international cooperation that
WHO had long sought was the decision of major specialized agencies of the
United Nations—principally the Food and Agriculture Organization and the
World Bank—to throw their influence behind programs of tobacco control. In 1979,
the Food and Agriculture Organization, which in the past had actively promoted
tobacco production, adopted a policy of encouraging tobacco cultivation only ‘in such
cases where overriding economic considerations so warrant’ (Cunningham 1996).
In 1991, the World Bank adopted a clear policy against support of tobacco production
and in favor of tobacco control. Its policy consists of the following five
measures:
1. The Bank’s activities in the health sector discourage the use of tobacco products.
2. The Bank does not lend directly for, invest in, or guarantee investment or loans for
tobacco production, processing, or marketing. In a few countries heavily dependent
on tobacco as a source of income, the Bank aims to help these countries diversify
away from tobacco.
3. The bank does not generally lend indirectly to tobacco production activities.