How multinational tobacco companies maintain a disturbing influence
“A sovereign remedy to all diseases” — such was the praise afforded by Robert Burton to tobacco in his 17th century “Anatomy of melancholy” (1621).
However, he went on to say that “as it is commonly abused by most men,
which take it as tinkers do ale, ’tis a plague and mischief, a violent
purger of goods, lands, health, hellish, devilish, and damned tobacco, the ruin
and overthrow of body and soul”.
This divergent evaluation seems to persist to a great extent even today, when
we have considerable evidence of the harm wreaked by tobacco. Yet, as an editorial
comment by two experts from the University of California in the 11 February issue
of the BMJ points out with acerbity, “The multinational cigarette companies
act as a vector that spreads disease and death throughout the world”. The
comment goes on to remark that this is because the tobacco industry uses its
wealth to influence politicians to create a favourable environment to promote
smoking. This is strong talk, but it is true. Tobacco and alcohol between them
must take a huge responsibility for human sickness.
In responding to the tobacco menace, the authors of the comment observe that
by January 2006, 121 countries had ratified the World Health Organization’s
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, but the industry has increasingly designed
strategies to prevent meaningful control of the drug. When the government of
Uzbekistan banned tobacco advertising and created smoke-free public areas, the
ministry of health was persuaded by a tobacco company to overrule the decision
and limit restriction to health care facilities, kindergartens, schools and other
institutions for children. This move not only encouraged smoking in Uzbekistan
but set a precedent for control policies in central Asian countries of the former
Soviet Union.
In California the tobacco companies formed an alliance with
the Californian Medical Association and added difficulties to the situation.
The same strategy was used in Mexico in 2004. Warning labels were weakened. For
those striving for a healthier tobacco-free society these developments are disturbing.
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Little seems to have been reported until recently regarding a French pharmacist who made many investigations into derivatives from natural products during the second half of the 20th century. However, an obituary notice published in Nature for 16 March throws light upon Pierre Potier, who died on 3 February 2006. Potier was active in the study of developing anticancer drugs and in encouraging communication between the private and public sectors.