Mexico

Public organizations require Mexico to expel from the country the foreign tobacco companies January 28, 2006 (ITAR-TASS). Breaking an agreement with the company's "Philip Morris" and "British American Tobacco", collaborate in the development of addiction of cigarettes, demanded that Mexican authorities several public organizations of this country. According to the activists, the activities of foreign firms, based on a document dated 2004, is a "bad example" for the Latin American States and runs counter to the efforts of the World Health Organization on tobacco control. Furthermore, the conditions for the intervention of transnational companies in tax and sanitary policies pursued by Mexico. "We urge the authorities to admit that they are victims of transnational producers of cigarettes and should cancel all agreements with them," - said at a press conference doctor Francisco Lopes, the head of the organization "Mexico without tobacco". He added that under the agreement two years ago, companies pay no taxes. They only make contributions to the fund involved treating diseases that are not a consequence of smoking. Moreover, foreigners continue to advertise their harmful products. According to statistics of the Inter-American Foundation for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, Mexico spends about 3 billion of dollars to rid their smokers from chronic ailments. However, receives less than half of that amount in taxes to pay tobacco producers. "As for the companies of Great Britain and the United States, they are simply deceiving the Mexican authorities to use for its own purposes agreement dangerous to the public health and economy of the country" - said Uruguayan representative of the fund specialist Eduardo Bianco. According to his data, from diseases caused by products that foreign firms, 11 thousand die every day people in the world and 165 people in Mexico.