U.S. Thumbs Nose at World; Public Citizen Defends Ban on Clove Cigarettes

July 24th was the deadline for the U.S. to comply with a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling which found that the federal ban on flavored cigarettes - with its exemption for menthol cigarettes - is a discriminatory trade practice because it protects domestic cigarettes with no rational public health justification.The U.S. could have complied either by rescinding the ban on clove cigarettes or extending the ban to cover menthol cigarettes. However, so far the federal government has done neither. Since the deadline has passed without U.S. action, Indonesia may now appeal to the WTO to have trade sanctions implemented against us.Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch argues that Indonesia and the WTO are misguided and that the flavored cigarette ban was a valid action to "keep tobacco companies away from our children."According to its press release: "As the World Trade Organization (WTO) deadline passes today for the United States to comply with a WTO ruling against a U.S. ban on sweet-flavored cigarettes targeting youth, the spotlight shifts back to the WTO, which could now authorize trade sanctions if requested by Indonesia, the country that won the WTO challenge. “We now have to wait and see whether the World Trade Organization will slam us with trade sanctions because the United States wants to maintain a policy to keep tobacco companies away from our children,” said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch.""“After last year’s rulings against U...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs