Uruguay wins lead case against Philip Morris over strict anti-tobacco law

Saturday, July 9th 2016 - 07:26 UTC

Full article 6 comments

Uruguay won on Friday an arbitration case against US tobacco giant Philip Morris, which sued the state claiming its strict anti-tobacco law harmed the cigarette maker's business, both sides said. Philip Morris argued that Uruguay had violated terms of a bilateral investment treaty with Switzerland, where it has its main headquarters. Read full article

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ChrisR
You would imagine that all the efforts by the Uruguayo government would have seen a considerable reduction in smoking.

At the moment where I live on the holiday coast MORE people smoke than not, especially young people.

I am not surprised when 'No Money Pepe' legalized smoking weed which after a very slow start is expected to hit the pharmacies in the next few weeks, to their delight (NOT).

Mixed messages or not?
Jul 09th, 2016 - 07:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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Enrique Massot
Uruguay is to be highly congratulated on its victory over a powerful multinational corporation bent on making money with no regard for people's health. It is, however, a sad state of affairs when a corporation can fight for so long, with a chance to win.
The ignorant statement above shows the various ways in which supporters of corporations--perhaps hoping something will stick?--still use to slow down progress.
“At the moment...more people smoke than not...”
So what? Is that an argument to quash the ongoing attempts Uruguay is making?
And then, our wide-eyed commentator goes on to bring about the legalization of weed as if there was a link between the two.
No mixed messages from Uruguay, Chris. Your posting, however, is full of that.
Jul 10th, 2016 - 02:37 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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golfcronie
@1 ChrisR Your post in no ways shows support for the smoking lobby or come to that the corporations, it is that either 1) Enrique does not comprehend Queens English or 2) he is a contrarian both I suspect. Do you have a no smoking ban in ALL public places as we do here.What a wonderful idea legalizing weed, instead of the person being killed off his head he can drive and kill several more.Sarcasm you understand.
Jul 10th, 2016 - 07:16 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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ChrisR
@ 3 golfcronie

Yes, he's an argie-Canuk, poor Canadians, and unable to apply logic to any argument because his thought processes haven't got beyond his admiration for TMBOA.

It is a fact here that in addition to many drunk driving deaths (of themselves and others) driving under drug intoxication is growing at an alarming rate resulting in similar deaths.

And yes, all the main shops and almost all the other places ban smoking. Only recently I saw an armed guard in our reasonably local supermarket point to the hand of a young woman as she came through the sliding entrance doors only to turn around and go back outside. I have never seen anyone smoking inside the place and we are in our sixth year here.

Thanks to 'Heisenberg' there is no doubt room for medical weed here and that should be the province of the pharmacies but to make them (under law) to have to service the drug trade is unreasonable.

President Vasquez who made his fortune as an oncologist was completely against legalizing weed and now he has had to see its implementation. I see that as retribution for his presidential decree banning abortions (his wife is a bat-shit mad RC) fortunately overturned under Pepe.
Jul 10th, 2016 - 11:06 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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:o))
Instead of beating around the bush; the governments should either ban smoking altogether or increase taxes sky-high; on the:
- producers/farmers of tobacco,
- manufacturers of the tobacco products
- buyers / consumers.
Jul 11th, 2016 - 01:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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Enrique Massot
#1 Chris
#3 golfcronie
Moved by golfcronie's teary defense of Chris, I went back to read his commen. I stand by my response.
Some individuals disguise their opposition with qualifiers such as “oh yes, they are trying but it does not work.” (They are Latinos after all).
“At the moment where I live on the holiday coast MORE people smoke than not, especially young people,” noted Chris.
He lost an opportunity to become more informed:
Under a subhead Setting an example for the world, a Lancet study is quoted:
“From 2005 to 2011, per-person consumption of cigarettes decreased by 4.3 percent per year in Uruguay, while increasing by 0.6 percent per year in Argentina.
”From 2005 to 2011, the adult smoking rate in Uruguay fell by 3.3 percent a year, compared to a 1.7 percent annual decrease in Argentina.
“From 2003 to 2009, rates of tobacco use among Uruguayan students aged 13, 15 and 17 decreased by 8 percent a year, compared to a decrease of 2.5 percent annually among Argentinean students from 2001 to 2009.”
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/tobacco_unfiltered/post/2012_09_18_uruguay
Wow. The Yorugas outdid the gauchos!
Any way. A step ahead is a step ahead, and commending it should be no obstacle to keep asking for more action as suggested at #5--corporations such as Philip Morris be damned.
And I am purposely avoiding the weed discussion--its ridiculous, backward criminalisation is set to end soon in Canada.
Jul 11th, 2016 - 07:44 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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