Tanzania - leaf tobacco company donates blankets to government hospital..

May 19, 2010 - Tanzania Leaf Tobacco Company (owned by Universal Corporation formerly called Universal Leaf Tobacco Co Inc of Richmond, VA) has donated blankets, bed sheets and mattresses worth 17.4m/- to Mpanda District Hospital in pursuance of its corporate responsibility programme.

At a brief ceremony at the hospital premises on Thursday, TLTC managing director Paul Crossan and director of corporate affairs Richard Sinamtwa handed over to the hospital 300 bed sheets worth 2.1m/-, some 300 blankets worth 6.3m/- and 150 mattresses worth 9m/-.

Related news brief: Tanzania - too busy growing tobacco to think about tobacco control..

from Guidelines for implementation of Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC):
Payments, gifts and services, monetary or in-kind, and research funding offered by the tobacco industry to government institutions, officials or employees can create conflicts of interest. Conflicting interests are created even if a promise of favourable consideration is not given in exchange, as the potential exists for personal

Principle 1: There is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco
industry’s interests and public health policy interests. 13. The tobacco industry produces and promotes a product that has been proven scientifically to be addictive, to cause disease and death and to give rise to a variety of social ills, including increased poverty. Therefore, Parties should protect the formulation and
implementation of public health policies for tobacco control from the tobacco industry to the greatest extent possible.

Tanzania signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on January 27, 2004, and ratified it on April 30, 2007.

Reference: Tobacco firm donates facilities worth 17m/- to Mpanda hospital by Correspondent, IPPmedia.com, 5/15/2010.

Related news brief:
Tanzania - too busy growing tobacco to think about tobacco control..;
Tanzania - call for public smoking areas..;
Tanzania - government will continue to support tobacco farming..

IMAGE - Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda receives a section of hospital amenities worth 17.4m/- from Tanzania Leaf Tobacco Company MD Paul Crossan. The donation was handed over at a ceremony at Mpanda District - IPPmedia.com.