Antismoking groups cry sellout

OTTAWA -- The federal government's decision to give organizers of cultural and sporting events more time to wean themselves from tobacco-sponsorship money is being criticized as a sellout to the industry and yet another Liberal failure in the fight to stop young people from smoking.

Antismoking groups, along with Reform and NDP health critics, say it is the young Canadians entering high school now who will pay the price for the amendments to the Tobacco Act tabled yesterday by Health Minister Allan Rock.

"I look upon those just entering high school now . . . those are the kids that are being left without the protection of this government," said Reform critic Dr. Grant Hill.

The amendments would allow cigarette companies to continue to sponsor events such as Formula One car races or professional tennis tournaments for two more years, which the current law would have severely restricted starting in October. Tighter restrictions would now kick in after two years, and all sponsorship would be banned by 2003.
Under the current law, some form of sponsorship could have continued indefinitely.

Mr. Rock defended the amendments yesterday and said the total ban means that he has made the Tobacco Act more "severe" and "restrictive.

"What we are doing is ensuring that, after the transition period, sponsorship by tobacco companies simply will not be allowed. And if there is a connection -- as some argue there is -- between sponsorship by tobacco companies and kids getting hooked, we are going to take it away. And the way we get there, the way we achieve that very important objective, is to have this transition period."

The tobacco industry welcomed the reprieve but said companies would probably sponsor events for only the next two years because after that the restrictions would make it not worth their while. Groups that depend on tobacco money for their events were also happy with the two-year moratorium but said they may have trouble finding replacement funding.

The critics focused on the health costs of the decision. The Canadian Medical Association issued a statement that said 500,000 Canadian children will start smoking in the five-year grace period and 250,000 Canadians will die from tobacco-related illnesses.

"We are hooking another five years of kids," said Dr. David Esdaile with Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. "This is not about the balance between health groups and arts and sports groups as we have been led to believe. It is about big tobacco versus kids. This is what it has been about from the start."

Rob Cunningham, a researcher with the Canadian Cancer Society, said there is no reason not to ban all tobacco sponsorships now. "From a health perspective, this is going to have a serious impact."

The groups did applaud Mr. Rock for moving to a total ban. But they said it is taking a dangerously long time to outlaw sponsorship, which they say supports a hip lifestyle that attracts children to smoking.

Yesterday, Mr. Rock defended his approach. He said he took more than a year to come up with the compromise because he wasn't willing to weaken the Tobacco Act in order to satisfy a promise made by his predecessor. Just before last year's federal election, former health minister David Dingwall promised to amend the legislation to continue to allow the use of logos with cigarette brand names on Grand Prix cars, drivers, pit crews and transport equipment.

The issue has been a tricky one for Mr. Rock. He was under pressure to be more flexible, especially in Quebec, where many of the affected events are held and the tobacco companies are based.

But Quebec recently paved the way by proposing a bill that is tougher than the federal amendments. The Quebec legislation would ban sponsorship for most events after two years but allow a five-year grace period for auto racing.

Mr. Rock's insistence that these amendments would make the Tobacco Act tougher was undermined by the support the industry gave them.

Marie-Josée Lapointe, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Association, said Mr. Rock's amendments would save hundreds of events that Canadians flock to each year, at least in the short term. "The Canadian government has at least acknowledged the economic value of these events, and we appreciate minister Rock's understanding of that reality."

She denied the Liberals buckled under pressure from the cigarette manufacturers. "It's not a cave-in to the tobacco industry, it's a cave-in to common sense," she said.

But she cautioned that many companies would probably end their sponsorship after two years because of the restrictions. A spokesman for Imperial Tobacco agreed. "After two years it will essentially mean the end of titled sponsorship by Imperial Tobacco," company spokesman Michel Descoteaux said.

Mr. Rock said he is confident that the amendments can withstand a court challenge. But Ms. Lapointe noted the Supreme Court of Canada has already struck down a previous attempt by the government to restrict the industry's freedom of expression, and the tobacco manufacturers are confident they can win a similar challenge to the sponsorship restrictions, which they launched last year.

The changing law

-The Tobacco Act passed in April of 1997 would have severely restricted tobacco sponsorship of cultural and sporting events.
Effective Oct. 1
-The use of tobacco brand names or logos would have been confined to the bottom 10 per cent of posters, signs or other display surfaces.
-Sponsorship materials that contained tobacco brand names, such as advertising, would have been permitted only in direct mailings to adults, in publications with primarily adult readers, in taverns and bars, and on the site of the sponsored event.
The amendments
-Organizers of events and tobacco companies would get two more years to continue operating without restrictions.
-For three years after that, sponsorship could continue but with the same restrictions outlined above.
-By 2003, or five years after the amendments were passed, all sponsorship would be banned.-- Staff

Up in smoke

Tobacco companies spend about $60-million a year funding more than 370 arts, sports, fashion and entertainment events. Some of the biggest losers if that money is lost:
Events sponsored by Imperial Tobacco Ltd.
-Grand Prix in Montreal and Trois Rivieres
-Molson Indy in Vancouver and Toronto
-Du Maurier jazz festivals in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax and Montreal
-Du Maurier International show jumping at Spruce Meadows in Calgary
Events sponsored by Rothmans Benson & Hedges
-International Film Festival in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver
-Benson & Hedges Symphony of Fire in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal
-Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal