Tobacco use is a growing threat to global public health. Today, tobacco products account for three million deaths worldwide each year; by 2025, that number is expected to rise to ten million per year, with over 70 percent of tobacco-related deaths occurring in developing nations.

As the world's leading exporter of tobacco products, the United States has a moral responsibility to address the adverse impact of its products on global public health. As a part of any effort to address tobacco use, Congress should establish a responsible international health policy by enacting these proposals:

1. End U.S. Government Support for Tobacco Abroad. The federal government should be prohibited from promoting the sale or export of tobacco or tobacco products abroad. It should also be prohibited from attempting to weaken a foreign tobacco regulation unless the regulation discriminates against U.S. products in an arbitrary and unjustifiable manner and is not a reasonable means of protecting public health.
   
   
2. Adequately Fund Global Non-Governmental Tobacco Control Efforts. A private, nonprofit organization should be established to assist public health organizations in other countries through public education programs, technical assistance to health professionals, mass media campaigns, grants and other general assistance.
   
   
3. Establish a Code of Conduct for Labeling and Advertising Overseas. U.S. tobacco companies should be required to print health warning labels on tobacco products sold overseas that are as stringent as those required in the United States. U.S. tobacco companies should also be prohibited from selling, advertising or marketing tobacco products to children in other countries, with the same standards applied to their overseas conduct as at home.
   
   
4. Stop International Tobacco Smuggling. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which currently regulates alcohol smuggling, should be given authority to deter tobacco smuggling through, among other things, a system of export permits and increased record keeping.

The U.S. Congress should also support the development, adoption, and implementation of the International Framework Convention on Tobacco Control through all available resources.

The United States has the opportunity to act as a world leader in promoting public health. If Congress passes any measure to confront domestic tobacco use, it must also tackle the health problems caused by the use of American tobacco products abroad. We strongly endorse these proposals to establish a responsible U.S. policy for the promotion of global public health.