Cancer Council calls for rejection of tobacco industry political donations

The Cancer Council Australia has called on the Coalition parties to reject political donations from the tobacco industry, saying Australia’s elected parliamentarians should be dissociated from an industry which kills half of its consumers.

The call follows a survey of major political parties in Australia, seeking clarification of their policies on tobacco industry donations.The Democrats, Greens and the ALP all reconfirmed their rejection of tobacco industry donations. The Coalition has yet to provide a formal response, however the Liberal Party advised The Cancer Council Australia in February that donations received by the tobacco industry did not impact on the Coalition’s tobacco control policy decisions.The Cancer Council Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Professor Alan Coates, said it was inappropriate for organisations at the forefront of national health care policy development to accept money made at the expense of the 50 Australians who die prematurely every day because they smoked.Professor Coates said tobacco killed over 19,000 Australians a year, causing one in seven adult deaths.”We hope the Coalition will back up its efforts in cancer control by refusing money generated by the sale of what is by far the greatest cause of cancer and heart disease among Australians,” he said.”Smoking remains the number one cause of cancer in Australia and as Australia’s peak non-government cancer control organisation, The Cancer Council Australia will continue to advocate for the rejection of tobacco money by all political parties.”(Source: Cancer Council: October 2004.)