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 Olcott Gunasekara 

Based on the above  famous inspirational quote by the Most Ven. Madihe Pannasiha Thera, civil society activist Olcott Gunasekara is currently rendering a yeoman service to the country, to wipe out the tobacco and alcohol menace from society.
Mr. Gunasekara is the founder and present President of the Dharmavijaya Foundation founded in 1977 with the blessings of the late Most Ven. Madihe Pannasiha Thera and he spoke with the Daily Mirror and shared his views regarding the tobacco and alcohol issues in the country.

 

"There are some countries like the USA and Japan who arethe main producers oftobacco. They didn’t like any kind of control on tobacco."

Q: Tell us a bit about your work with tobacco and alcohol issues in the country.
 We started it a long time ago, actually in 1970. There was an organisation that we formed called Samma Ajiva Samaja. The patron of this organisation was Ven. Madihe Pannasiha Thera and its first president was retired Chief Justice G.P.A. Silva. I was also a member of this organisation. I can remember the instance Ven. Madihe Pannasiha Thera said we would make a ‘no tobacco’ society. Then I said, rather than making a ‘no tobacco’ society let us implement the whole thing called Samma Ajiva which included all the precepts. But the main theme of this organisation was over tobacco and alcohol.  Later on, this was a part of the Dharmavijaya Foundation. We did quite a lot. We did certain programmes in schools including several training programmes and workshops.

 From 1999 onwards till 2003 there was the International Negotiation Body (INB) to draft the convention on tobacco control. I was there from INB-2 to INB-4 sessions. We formed all non-governmental organisations working in the field of tobacco-control and formed an alliance called the Framework Conventional Alliance. I can remember various countries opposing this international convention. Some of the countries were developed countries. We identified some of those countries that had got a higher mandate from the industry. The industry was backing them. We were able to have the Framework Convention, actually because of the then WHO Director General - a lady from Norway. She was very firm with the issue. Then earlier in the negotiation body, a decision was taken that the industry should not be consulted. We are the victims of this industry.

"We were bound to implement the necessary measures including the pictorial warningson the cigarette packs within athree-year period after the ratification"

 Every six seconds there is death in the world because of tobacco related diseases like heart attacks and cancer. The same issue arose in Sri Lanka, when Dr. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera presented a Private Member’s Bill in 2005. One of the contents was that the industry should be represented in the Board of the National Authority for Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA). We are very grateful to the then Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva who dismissed the claim. In 2003, we concluded the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control with some of the issues relating to advertising. There are some countries like the USA and Japan who are the main producers of tobacco. They didn’t like any kind of control on tobacco. They argued that this is a legal product and they have certain rights with the blessings of the World Trade Organisation. 




Q: What was your organisation’s contribution to the tobacco issue?

 Actually, we are not a party, but from the beginning we were involved in bringing up the matter. We have been agitating and lobbying. In the South East Asian regional meeting I highlighted the issues and presented the facts. We highlighted the fact to the government that so many people died per year due to tobacco-related diseases and emphasised that health was more important than the money they got. The delay to take decisions means deaths. We signed the WHO convention - then we had to ratify the convention. If we din’t ratify the convention we wouldn’t have been able to proceed. Legal persons of some Ministries told us the laws did not allow ratification of the convention. Then, I pursued the matter with the then Health Minister P. Dayaratne who I knew earlier, and demanded the ratification. We were the first in Asia to ratify the convention. Accordingly, we were bound to implement the necessary measures including the pictorial warnings on the cigarette packs within a three-year period after the ratification.

I brought the matter here when we were going to celebrate anti-tobacco day on May 31,  2002.  There, I made a presentation stating why we didn’t have pictorial warnings. Before NATA there was another organisation in Sri Lanka by the Cancer Society, an advisory body to the Ministry of Health. I was a member of this advisory committee and took up this matter. The convention was prepared by the parties concerned by putting the best practices which could be used. The most important thing in this convention is its article which says: “For better human health, parties are encouraged to insert measures beyond those required by the convention.”




Q: What is the involvement of the Dharmavijaya Foundation in respect of tobacco and alcohol issues in the country?

 The Foundation was started in 1977 by an Act of Parliament. The main purpose of the foundation was to have a righteous society based on the five precepts. All wrong doings are due to the mind. I have been working with Ven. Madihe Pannasiha Thera at the Dharmavijaya Foundation. Subsequently I have been with Samma Ajiva Samajaya. We have 462 member organisations of the Dharmavijaya Samaja. We have been educating the people to develop their life in protecting the five precepts. Mostly we influence the government on the national level. We set up some recommendations regarding tobacco and alcohol in line with the 2600th Sambuddha Jayanthi. We also have a ten-year plan. So we are monitoring that too. When we monitor, we see certain things not happening. We as a non-governmental organisation, and the Bhikkhus are still monitoring the process.




Q: Is it rational to cover more than 80% on a cigarette packet with pictorial warnings while our neighbouring countries like India and Pakistan have only gone for 40%?
 The rule says there should be a minimum of 30% health warning on a packet. This is a negotiation. So in a negotiation, the countries have to get involved and comply with it. As I said earlier according to the FCTC convention anyone could go beyond. We say a picture is worth a thousand words. At the same time a larger picture is more effective. Filing a writ petition before Court, the Ceylon Tobacco Company argued as to why they should carry pictorial warnings while the country’s population has a 92% literacy rate and they can understand written warnings. The responsibility of a government is the total population. Even if there are 8% who cannot read, we have to reach them. We found that it was really the low income people who were mostly smoking. Evidence shows that pictorial warnings are more effective. They all are sovereign countries, each of them are responsible for the people’s health condition. India doesn’t mean Sri Lanka.




Q: Making it mandatory to carry pictorial warnings on cigarette packs is just a legal remedy for the issue. Are there any other effective solutions to control the issue?
 We can change the law. The Amendments can be brought to the law. I am sorry to say that most of the Amendments are getting stuck in the Cabinet. They are only considering the tourist industry. The Ministry of Finance has never come for a meeting with us. Sometimes the police don’t act in accordance with the NATA act. They act on their own regulations. The whole objective of the Dharmavijaya Foundation is to have a good society. The criteria for the development are per capita income, education and health. According to Bhutan - another Buddhist country - it believes the GNP (Gross National Production) is GNH (Gross National Happiness). That is the Buddhist goal. Yet our Central Bank and the World Bank don’t think of this.

 The economic advisors in the government want the capitalist Adam Smith’s theory and philosophy to be implemented. In order to achieve the status of the wonder of Asia, we have to make our people happy. Will casinos help this country? It is to attract the tourists and get their money. The intention is wrong. The five precepts are to give security to the people.




Q: Sri Lanka became a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005. Why did it take a long time to implement this regulation?
 It should have been done within a period of three years. I would say it is due to something in the government.




Q: What are the major challenges you have identified to minimise the use of tobacco and alcohol in the society?
 The products relating to alcohol and tobacco are different types of commodities. It is not a product like other commodities. It has had a privileged position because of historical reasons. People are ignorant of the health consequences of tobacco and alcohol. What is required is to have a vision. A vision to have a healthy society is required. A vision to have a happy society is required. I believe that by 2025, we should have a policy where we have endgame of tobacco. The endgame for alcohol is not possible but reducing it up to a certain level is required. I don’t know how the industry would take it up. But some countries are already doing that. They are thinking about an endgame. Every move taken by the government regarding the WHO Framework Convention has been challenged in Courts in order to delay the process. The regulation on pictorial warnings is the only regulation that has been passed under the NATA act. There are so many areas where the regulations have to be promulgated.

Pic by Kushan Pathiraja

Deshabandhu Olcott Gunasekara Olcott Gunasekera was elected President of the Asian Buddhist Congress from 2001 and holds office to date. He was a Board Member at the IOGT (International Global Alcohol Policy) during the period 2000 - 2006. He served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors and Framework Convention Alliance on Tobacco Control (FCA) from 2003 - 2005. He participated in almost all the WHO FCTC (Framework Convention for Tobacco Control) negotiation meetings held in the region and in Geneva (1999-2003). Mr. Gunasekara also participated as an invitee at the NGO meeting of WHO on the WHA resolution on public health problems caused by the harmful use of alcohol held in April, 2006 in Geneva. He also participated in the International Negotiating Body meeting to negotiate a protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products under WHO-FCTC in Geneva. Mr. Gunasekara received the Lakshmi N. Menon Birth Centenary Award for Regional Cooperation for his outstanding contribution in the field of Substance Abuse Prevention in 1999 (India). In 2005, he received the national honour of Deshabandhu (Titular) by the government of Sri Lanka for distinguished service of a meritorious nature. Mr. Gunasekara was also awarded the Ruben Wagnsson Medal by IOGT international for contributions in alcohol-control and policy in 2006. In 2007, he received the title of “Dhammavijitavi Sasana Ranjana” by Amarapura Sri Dhammarakshita Nikaya on its 200th anniversary. Meanwhile, Mr. Gunasekara was appointed secretary to the National Council of Social Services of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (1960-1963). He also served as the secretary of the National NGO Council of Sri Lanka from 1993 - 1995. He became the President of Sober Sri Lanka / Sri Lanka Amadyapa Samiti Sammelanaya during the period 1992 - 2000.