PCP seeks apology for pro-tobacco article

ISLAMABAD: The Press Council of Pakistan (PCP) has accepted the tobacco control advocates’ argument that senior politician Syeda Abida Husain’s published interview in a magazine in February 2012, falls under tobacco promotion and has directed the editor of the magazine to prominently publish an apology, states a press release issued by TheNetwork for Consumer Protection.
It took the PCP over three years to reach the decision, and on June 23, 2015, the Council directed the editor of the magazine: “In the first instance, to publish an apology promptly on the same page and at the same space as that of the offending publication.”
The decision was taken on the complaint of TheNetwork for Consumer Protection, which had stated that in the said article titled, ‘May Favorite Mistake,’ Abida Hussain has narrated how she fell in love with Marlboro Man at the tender age of 16. While giving her personal account, she negated most of the tobacco control messages such as smokers die early and that tobacco does not cause serious illness.
The PCP Commission, in its decision, noted, “Reading of its (the article’s] contents gives a misleading picture to the public in general and to adults and teenagers in particular that smoking is not injurious to health when a public figure, Abida Hussain, a regular smoker, recounted her tale of a non-smoker father who died at the age of 55 years due to cancer and a smoker mother surviving longer and smoking her last cigarette 6 hours before breathing her last. The Commission is not to see its veracity but its effects.”
Considering it a move by the tobacco industry to link smoking with women empowerment, TheNetwork complained that the first person story is against (clauses 3 and 12) of PCP ethical code of conduct. It may be mentioned that after the complaint was lodged, the PCP formed an inquiry committee consisting of a prominent journalist, member of civil society and academia that upheld the contention of TheNetwork. Later, the Commission ratified the inquiry committee’s report.
Regulatory notices were issued to the respondent, who did not appear in person, but only on one occasion, via an email dated January 22, 2013, denied having made any violation of tobacco control laws or PCP code of ethics by publishing the said article.
The respondent, however, continued to disregard the decision, thus prompting the PCP to constitute a commission which after a number of hearings and investigations gave the ex-parte decision on June 23, 2015.
Welcoming the decision, Nadeem Iqbal, the complainant as well as executive coordinator of TheNetwork maintained that the decision should be taken seriously by editors of newspapers as the tobacco industry is penetrating through their editorial control, and that they should now take stricter measures against pro-tobacco and pro-industry content. Moreover, said Nadeem Iqbal, newspapers should revamp their code of ethics by adopting zero tolerance for any content including articles, news stories, reports or columns, etc that serve the interests of the tobacco industry or promote tobacco use in the country.