烟草在线据atg.state.vt.us报道编译　　美国佛蒙特州首席检察官威廉•H.索瑞尔正领导一项努力在提议签署的泛太平洋自由贸易协议中保留联邦、州及地方烟草控制措施的工作。在1月27日通过美国全国首席检察官协会发布，并由首席检察官索瑞尔、爱达荷州首席检察官劳伦斯•瓦斯登联合撰写的一封信中，44个州和领地的执法机构首席长官呼吁美国贸易代表将烟草和烟草产品排除在目前处于磋商阶段的泛太平洋伙伴关系协议之外。这将保留联邦、州和地方政府为减少烟草使用，保护公众健康而对烟草产品实施管理的能力。

    据这封信说，美国贸易代表在泛太平洋伙伴关系协议中处理烟草问题的提议草案不会充分保护美国为控制烟草所进行的努力。这封信说：“作为我们美国各州的法律部门的长官，我们对任何可能危害这些州实施自己有关烟草产品的法律法规的能力的发展感到担忧。经验显示，州和地方法律法规可能受到烟草公司的质疑，它们往往积极地根据双边及多边贸易与投资协议提出指控……这些协议可能使这些烟草公司能够根据以美国法律不能适用的标准，在根据美国法律不能适用的论坛，对联邦、州及地方法律法规提出质疑。

   首席检察官索瑞尔说，烟草每年夺走44万美国人的生命，按目前这个水平，烟草本世纪在全球将夺走超过10亿人的生命。他们的信强调，“没有政策上的理由证明将烟草列入旨在推动和扩大贸易与投资的协议中是正确的。”

US: Attorneys General Call On Trade Representative To Preserve Tobacco Regulation

atg.state.vt.us,January 27, 2014

Vermont Attorney William H. Sorrell is leading an effort to preserve federal, state and local control over tobacco products in a proposed Pacific-basin free trade agreement. In a letter released today through the National Association of Attorneys General and co-sponsored by Attorneys General Sorrell and Lawrence Wasden of Idaho, the chief law enforcement officers of 44 states and territories are calling upon the United States Trade Representative to exclude tobacco and tobacco products from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is currently under negotiation. This would preserve the ability of federal, state and local governments to regulate tobacco products to reduce their use and protect the public health.

According to the letter, the U.S. Trade Representative’s latest draft proposal addressing tobacco in the Trans-Pacific Partnership would not adequately protect tobacco control efforts in the United States. “As the chief legal officers of our states, we are concerned about any development that could jeopardize the states’ ability to enforce their laws and regulations relating to tobacco products,” reads the letter. “Experience has shown that state and local laws and regulations may be challenged by tobacco companies that aggressively assert claims under bilateral and multilateral trade and investment agreements. … Such agreements can enable these tobacco companies to challenge federal, state and local laws and regulations under standards and in forums that would not be available under United States law.”

The Attorneys General note that tobacco kills 440,000 Americans every year and, at present rates, will kill more than one billion people worldwide in this century. Their letter stresses that “there is no policy justification for including tobacco products in agreements that are intended to promote and expand trade and investment generally.”