On February 14, 2020, the Pays de la Loire Regional Council is expected to decide on public funding to support the tobacco industry worth 200,000 Euros.<\/p>\n
This public funding would be granted to the Spay plant in Sarthe, part of LTR. The purpose of the funding would be to " <\/strong>to enable the discovery of new business opportunities\u201d and \u201csupport the company which must face the decline of the tobacco market in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n LTR Industrie, a subsidiary of the American paper group Schweitzer-Mauduit, specializes in reconstituting tobacco by-products into leaf form, which is then used to manufacture new blends. Hiding behind the argument that tobacco products may be less dangerous, the Spay-based company claims to be launching new types of cigarettes, which it claims are less harmful.<\/p>\n Such public funding has sparked strong reactions, including within the local community. The opposition group, the Socialist, Ecologist, Radical and Republican (SERR) group, has officially indicated that it will oppose the adoption of this resolution this Friday, February 14, and will ask the majority to abandon it.<\/p>\n This would come at a time when the State has already financed this cigarette manufacturer to the tune of 1.6 million euros. In the context of implementing a national strategy to reduce tobacco consumption, such a decision provokes incomprehension, particularly within civil society. It goes completely against the international commitments made by France within the framework of the WHO treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which stipulates, in particular, that no preferential treatment be granted to the tobacco industry. Such a principled position results from the recognition of the irreconcilable interests between the interests of this industry and those of the general interest. Indeed, in addition to the major health damage caused by tobacco consumption, this industry also generates major financial, social, and environmental costs for a country like France. Continuing to support a deadly industry, which costs money to public authorities and citizens and worsens the situation of the most disadvantaged, has no tenable justification.<\/p>\n