The President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, publicly admitted that the relaxation of the anti-smoking regulations, which dates back to the government of Tabaré Vázquez, was relaxed after a request from the Monte Paz tobacco company to the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining.
“And another thing I want to tell you: some people asked me in off-screen, and some ridiculous things that I also heard: ‘this is to favor the Monte Paz company!’ No, if a chewing gum company asked me to. Obvious! If who is dedicated to producing cigars is Monte Paz. And who asked the Ministry of Industry for this? Mount Peace!”, Lacalle expressed at a press conference, but denied that he had given in to pressure.
This flexibility was made contradicting technicians and advisors from the Ministry of Public Health who stated in an internal document that “the substitutions of articles 7, 8 and 9, proposed by Decree 282/022 are not measures to combat illicit trade and allow cigarettes more attractive through design techniques proposed by the tobacco industry, eliminating the uniformity of the packaging”.
This document was revealed by journalist Patricia Madrid on Twitter, and goes on to say: “The WHO Framework Agreement for Tobacco Control, ratified by Law 17,793, is contravened, the Protocol for the Elimination of Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, ratified by Law 19,259 , and Law 18,256 and its amendments, Law 19,244, Law 19,723, as well as Law 13,751. Therefore, the immediate repeal of Decree 282/022 is required”.
This document was signed by Dr. Beatriz Goja, on behalf of the Interinstitutional Advisory Commission for Tobacco Control, and by Dr. Elba Esteves, director of the National Tobacco Control Program, attached to the General Directorate of Health.
Attempts to weaken the legislation
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the tobacco industry tried to weaken anti-smoking regulations and standards, according to a report by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) carried out between July 2020 and June 2021.
The 172-page document highlights in one of its segments that tobacco consumption “remains an important public health problem and is the main preventable risk factor for the four main NCDs: cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases” .
Further on, it recounts that “the tobacco industry seized the opportunity of the COVID-19 pandemic to position itself as a partner in the response to the pandemic, while at the same time attempting to weaken effective regulatory frameworks to address the tobacco use epidemic.”
During 2021, the report continues, “little progress was made in the application of the measures of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), despite the finding that the increase in taxes to reduce the consumption of Tobacco would also lead to an immediate increase in revenue that could be used for COVID-19 recovery plans.”
