布隆伯格与盖茨创建禁烟法律基金

Billionaires Mike Bloomberg and Bill Gates have launched an anti-smoking legal fund designed to help lower-income countries defend their tobacco-control laws against lawsuits by cigarette companies.

亿万富翁迈克•布隆伯格(Mike Bloomberg)和比尔•盖茨(Bill Gates)创建了一只禁烟法律基金，旨在帮助较低收入国家保护它们的烟草控制法不受烟草公司诉讼的影响。

The fund will raise the pressure on the tobacco industry, which has seen tough anti-smoking regulation spread from mature markets in places like western Europe to fast-growing developing countries seen as key sources of growth.

这只基金将给烟草行业带来更大压力。发展中国家被视作烟草行业最重要的增长来源，但这些国家也越来越多地跟随西欧等成熟市场，采取更严格的禁言规定。

In response, tobacco companies have used trade agreements as a way to challenge national laws on smoking. Philip Morris International, the world’s largest seller of cigarettes outside of China, is suing Uruguay over claims that its tobacco-control measures violated a trade agreement with Switzerland, where PMI is based.

作为回应，烟草企业一直利用贸易协议挑战各国禁烟法律。总部位于瑞士、全球（中国以外）最大烟草销售商菲利普莫里斯国际公司(Philip Morris International)正起诉乌拉圭，指控该国控烟措施违反了与瑞士签订的一项贸易协议。

The claim, which marked the first time a tobacco company sued a country in an international court, concerns a law passed in 2009 that requires health warnings to cover 80 per cent of tobacco packaging and banning different variants of the same brands, like Marlboro Red and Marlboro Gold.

这是烟草企业首次在国际法庭起诉一个国家，这一指控与2009年签署的一项法律有关。该法律规定，健康警告需要占到香烟包装的80%，同时禁止同一品牌使用不同名称，例如万宝路红(Marlboro Red)和万宝路金(Marlboro Gold)。

Mr Bloomberg said the tobacco industry was using costly legal battles to “intimidate” lower-income countries.

布隆伯格表示，烟草行业一直在利用代价高昂的法律诉讼“恐吓”较低收入国家。

“This is not about trade. No one is a stronger supporter of capitalism and trade than I am,” he said. “This is about sovereignty and whether a country has the right to set its own public-health policies.”

“这不关乎贸易。没有人比我更强烈支持资本主义和贸易，”他表示，“这关乎主权以及一国是否有权制定自己的公共健康政策。”

He and Mr Gates have committed $4m to initiate the fund, which will be administered by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a US charity.

他和盖茨已出资400万美元作为这只基金的初始资金。该基金由美国慈善组织Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids管理。

It will offer countries assistance in drafting anti-smoking laws, create a network of trade-litigation lawyers, and provide financial support for states facing legal action.

该基金将向各国提供草拟禁烟法律方面的协助，创建一个贸易诉讼律师网络，并为那些面临法律诉讼的国家提供支持。

Mr Bloomberg said the relatively small financial investment was “just a start” and pointed to the $600m that Bloomberg Philanthropies, his charitable giving vehicle, had spent on anti-smoking work since 2007.

布隆伯格表示，这笔规模相对较小的投资“只是一个开始”。他表示，自2007年以来，他的慈善捐赠机构布隆伯格慈善基金会(Bloomberg Philanthropies)已花费6亿美元用于禁烟工作。

Trade laws have also been used to challenge Australia’s plain-packaging legislation, which was passed in 2012. A subsidiary of PMI is suing Australia over claims that the law violated a trade agreement between the country and Hong Kong.

此外，烟草公司还在利用贸易法律来挑战澳大利亚2012年通过的简易包装立法。菲利普莫里斯国际公司子公司正起诉澳大利亚，指控该法律违反了澳大利亚与香港签订的一项贸易协议。

Tobacco companies have vowed to sue Ireland and the UK, which also passed plain packaging laws this month.

烟草公司还誓言将起诉爱尔兰和英国。英国本月也通过了香烟简易包装法律。

Mr Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said that while wealthy countries like Australia could afford to defend their laws, “smaller, developing countries don’t have the same resources”.

比尔和梅琳达盖茨基金会(Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)联合主席盖茨表示，尽管澳大利亚等富国能够承担得起维护其法律的诉讼费用，但“较小发展中国家不具备这种财力”。