Democrat July-August 2013 (Number 136)
Corporate Tobacco Europe
British American Tobacco (BAT) says it paid out nearly €1 million on lobbying Brussels during 2012. This is more than twice that declared for 2011.
Philip Morris spent up to €1.25 million for the same purpose in 2012.
Japan Tobacco International spent up to €600,000. Imperial Tobacco,
meanwhile, spent up to €250,000 between October 2011 and September 2012.
Tobacco industry umbrella groups include the European Community Cigarette Manufacture which used a lobbying war chest of €700,00 last year and the European Smoking Tobacco Association spent €400,000 in 2011.
Following a controversy, the EU's chief Health Officer was dismissed.
A revised "tobacco products" law was tabled last December where 30% of each packet could be used for branding. This has been postponed until October giving the cigarette industry time to weaken the draft law.
EU officials and tobacco lobbyists are taking part in meetings and a BAT conference to present it as "socially responsible".
The question is "why is the EU accommodating those who cause death of six million people each year?"
Based on review by David Cronin in EUObserver of Robert Proctor's book Golden Holocaust.