Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #119839

Donald W. Zeigler, PhD, Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, American Medical Association, 515 N. State Street, 8252, Chicago, IL 60610, 312-464-5687, Donald_Zeigler@ama-assn.org

Public health measures reduce alcohol and tobacco consumption, social problems, and related illnesses and deaths. However, under current and pending international agreements, these protections can be seen as constraints on trade and interfere with commercial priorities and profit opportunities of foreign businesses. For example, state control of alcohol and tobacco sales and enforcement, restrictions on the number of liquor outlets in a community, limit on the alcohol content of beverages, controls on alcohol and tobacco advertising, minimum age limits for the sale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, can be construed as barriers to trade with severe penalties by international tribunals. Fear of reprisals could be a damper on further alcohol policies. Alcohol and tobacco control advocates in the medical and public health communities are building awareness of the conflict between international trade agreements which give priority to commercial concerns over and public health.

Learning Objectives:

• Differentiate conflicting goals of trade agreements from tobacco and alcohol control policies.
• Identify features of trade agreements of concern to alcohol and tobacco control.
• Articulate strategies for eliminating the risk to policy from trade agreements in order to advance public health protections.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.