May 31st is fast approaching. Now is an excellent time for you and your partner to approach a local U.S. Embassy* with ideas for how they might support tobacco control efforts in their host country. In particular, we suggest that you encourage the U.S. Ambassador near you or your partner to issue a public statement leading up to WNTD. Such statements are often picked up by local, national and international press and can be useful in boosting local support for tobacco control.

Already, two partnerships have received a favorable response! Last month, Essential Action hand-delivered letters and articles from Gloria Luther (Volusia County Health Department, FL) and Carol McGruder (Polaris Research and Development, CA) on behalf of their respective partners Alioune Ba (FADDES) and Medard Bassene (MAT/Senegal) to the U.S. Ambassador to Senegal. Ambassador Elam-Thomas expressed deep disgust over the tobacco industry's marketing practices in her host country and strong enthusiasm for supporting local tobacco control efforts.

Please find further directions below on how to approach U.S. Embassies. If you are interested in taking part in this action, you and your partner should start immediately. Let's see how many U.S. Embassies we can get on board!

* Canadian groups and their partners might want to give Canadian Embassies a try.

BACKGROUND

In 1998, the U.S. State Department issued a directive to all U.S. Embassies instructing them to "assist and promote" tobacco control efforts in their host countries. While the directive has been reissued annually, very few Embassies have acted upon it, perhaps because it doesn’t offer any specific ideas for how to do so -- and no one has bothered to give them any. Let’s give them some!

There are some concrete ways U.S. Embassies can support tobacco control. For example, in Senegal, the U.S. State Department directive helped facilitate the donation of a computer by the U.S. Embassy to a local federation of tobacco control organizations. On World No Tobacco Day 1998, U.S. Ambassador to Senegal Dane F. Smith, Jr. also issued a public statement that was picked up by national and international media. For more information on the directive and the Senegal's case read:

U.S. Department of State Directive on Tobacco Policy Abroad – January 2000

How to make the US State Department's tobacco directive work for you: Senegal's case

Ambassador Smith's public statement: English | Français

NEW! Transcript of American Cultural Center (Senegal) Report for World No Tobacco Day 2001 featuring Ambassador Elam-Thomas

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brainstorm ways that the U.S. Embassy near you or your partner organization might be able to assist local tobacco control efforts in a tangible way. For example, they might be able to:

• Issue a public statement on tobacco control for World No Tobacco Day
• Donate used computers, printers, and equipment
• Give a speech at an event organized by local tobacco control advocates

Share your additional ideas with Essential Action, so we can add them to the list!

2. Draft and send/fax a letter to the U.S. Ambassador. The letter should include the following information:

• Reference to the directive, particularly the first guideline
• Statistics that highlight the urgency of tobacco control locally and internationally
• A description of your partnership
• Information about the local group’s history, activities and needs
• One or more concrete ways the U.S. Embassy might be able to assist local tobacco control efforts
• Examples of how other U.S. Embassies have supported tobacco control efforts
• Information about WNTD 2001 "Second-Hand Smoke: Let's Clear the Air"
  http://world.notobaccoday.org/
• Attachments: a copy of the U.S. State Department directive, relevant newspaper articles, photos (e.g. examples of how Philip Morris exploits U.S. themes in its tobacco advertisements)
• For irony's sake, a line about the Marlboro Man being the #1 U.S. Ambassador to the world

Partner groups can choose whether to write two separate letters or a joint letter. If you do not have a U.S. partner, Essential Action can assist you.

Addresses for embassies can be found at http://usembassy.state.gov/

3. Follow up your letter with a call one to two weeks later*. If possible, try to arrange a meeting between the U.S. Ambassador and local tobacco control advocates to discuss your work in further detail and how the U.S. Embassy could be of assistance. Write up some talking points for a public statement or a short (one-page) draft to give to the U.S. Ambassador.

4. Let us know how the U.S. Embassy near you or your partner responds to your request!

*If you cannot make international calls, contact Essential Action and we will assist you.

Essential Action
Global Partnerships for Tobacco Control
P.O. Box 19405 ~ Washington, DC 20036
Tel: +1 202-387-8030 ~ Fax: +1 202-234-5176
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco