Cuba

Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean Sea just south of Florida, USA. In the eastern part of the island is Guantanamo Bay where the U.S. has a military base and prison. The U.S. has a perpetual lease for Guantanamo, based on a 1934 treaty. In 1959, the U.S. backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista was overthrown and Fidel Castro has, since 1961, headed a one-party communist government.

Smoking in Cuba
Smoking has long been an integral part of Cuban culture. Cuban cigars and cigarettes are icons in Cuba, and, as a tobacco-growing country, tobacco has long been one of the country's biggest exports. But the detrimental impact of smoking on the health of Cubans is widely documented and, despite Cuba's remarkable health care system, smoking rates and the rates of smoking-related diseases are considerable. Until very recently, the government has not stringently enforced its own tobacco control policies.

Cigarettes were long subsidized in Cuba. In August, 2010, Cuba ended monthly handouts of cigarettes to 2.5 million citizens as part of a plan to modernize the economy. The change affected Cubans born before 1956 (Cubans older than 55), who had received four packs of cigarettes a month for about 16 cents, or 4 cents a pack -- "way below cost," the Havana Times reported. Cigarettes normally sell for about 32 cents per pack at Cuba's state-run stores.

Studies show that approximately one third of Cuba's population smokes. Doctors link 80 percent of lung cancers in Cuba to smoking, making the addiction a major killer. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Cuba. But the country has started to try and rein in the addiction. Regulations enacted in 2005 prohibit the sale of cigarettes to those 16 and under, and all stores located within 100 meters of schools or health care installations have removed cigarettes from their shelves. Tolerance for smoking is slowly decreasing, but the government has started all-out public service campaign against the habit. Health warnings have long appeared on Cuban cigarette packages, but now those messages are in largeer print. Billboards and signs advertising cigarettes have been taken down and normally ad-free Cuban television programming started running anti-smoking commercials targeting teens and parents, in particular.

In 2001, a World Health Organization survey of smoking in Cuba revealed that almost one of every three 12-14 year old children had experimented with tobacco. Cigarettes remained cheap in Cuba, however, including those manufactured in other countries. Export quality filter tips like The Populares brand, an export-quality, filtered cigarette, sold for as little only 60 U.S. cents, and even well-known brands, like Romeo y Julieta or H. Upmann were inexpensive at just $1.50 a pack.

U.S. - Cuba relations
Cuba's deputy foreign minister, Abelardo Moreno said March 2005, in London that Bush administration "officials are publicly speaking of regime change in Cuba. They were already attacking us as sponsors of terrorism. Now we are told we are an 'outpost of tyranny.'"

In March 2002, John R. Bolton, the then undersecretary of state for non-proliferation, claimed that "the United States believed that Cuba had at least a limited offensive biological warfare research and development effort" and had also "provided dual-use biotechnology to other rogue states." (In March 2005 Bolton was appointed as U.S. representative to the United Nations).

While other Administration officials backtracked when challenged to produce evidence, Bolton hasn't wavered in his hostility to Cuba. In a 2004 written statement to Congress Bolton stated "I believe the case for the existence of a developmental Cuba (biological weapons research and development) effort is strong". 

The BBC reported January 19, 2005, that "US relations with Cuba have been stormy since Fidel Castro took power in 1959, and a US invasion failed in 1961. ... Under President Bush, the US has tightened trade and travel regulations still further. ... Washington has regularly criticised communist Cuba's rejection of political opposition, and jailing of dissidents. ... Two days after Mr Bush's re-election, state department spokesman Richard Boucher said: 'The United States condemns the Cuban regime's abuse of advocates of peaceful change and reform. We call on the regime to cease its repression and release all political prisoners.'"

In July 2006, "A U.S. presidential commission on Monday urged Washington to spend $80 million to help nongovernment groups in Cuba." (That is to "promote democracy" in Cuba as the National Endowment for Democracy does.) The full report from the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba can be found at www.cafc.gov

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Cuban Missile Crisis
 * Fidel Castro (Tobaccowiki)
 * Free Trade With Cuba Act
 * globalization
 * Guantanamo Camp Xray (Guantanamo Bay)
 * Human Rights Watch
 * Office of Cuba Broadcasting
 * outposts of tyranny
 * Pax Americana
 * preemptive war
 * US-Cuba Democracy PAC
 * war on terrorism
 * Robert Vesco

External articles

 * John O. Edwards, "U.S. Government Warns Cuba on Bioweapons Program", NewsMax, Monday, May 6, 2002.
 * Paul Crespo, "Cuba needs regime change," Miami Herald, April 28, 2003.
 * "Bush seeking ideas for regime change in Cuba," AP, October 10, 2003.
 * "US to tighten Cuba sanctions," BBC, October 10, 2003: "US President George W. Bush has announced fresh measures designed to hasten the end of communist rule in Cuba."
 * Marjorie Cohn, "Bush Gunning for Regime Change in Cuba," CounterPunch, October 16, 2003.
 * Wayne S. Smith and Chloe Schwabe, "Bush Call for Regime Change in Cuba Violates OAS Charter," wicuba.org, February 22, 2004.
 * Rafael Lorente, "Cuba remains `terrorist threat' to U.S., administration official says", South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 30, 2004.
 * "U.S. weighs tougher steps against Cuba. Amid push to end regime, commission suggests cutting cash flows," AP, May 3, 2004.
 * "Cuba Commission Recommends Regime Change," TinyVital.com, May 3, 2004.
 * Amy Goodman interviews Jane Franklin, "Campaign for Regime Change: Bush Tightens Cuba Embargo," Democracy Now!, May 7, 2004: "President Bush agreed to give Cuban dissidents seeking to get rid of President Fidel Castro $36 million more in funding and plans to launch psychological operations using EC-130 aircraft. He also announced new measures against Cuba in an effort to decrease the number of Americans traveling to the island."
 * Miriam Leiva, "Whose country is it, anyway?," Salon, May 24, 2004: "A Cuban journalist questions the effectiveness of new U.S. measures aimed at regime change in the island nation -- and says they will merely result in more imprisonment of dissidents."
 * Jeff Theodore, "Creator of film shot in Cuba calls for embargo's end."
 * Jane Franklin, "Building a prison and preaching democracy," Zmag, June 7, 2004.
 * Steven R. Weisman, "Administration backing off on Cuba's germ warfare ability: New intelligence report says bio-weapons program uncertain", San Francisco Chronicle, September 18, 2004. (This is a synidcated New York Times article).
 * Hope Bastian, "Uncovering Bush Plan for Regime Change in Cuba," Global Exchange, November 11, 2004.
 * "At-a-glance: 'Outposts of tyranny'," BBC, January 19, 2005: "Condoleezza Rice, President George W Bush's nominee for secretary of state, has hinted at the direction of future US foreign policy by identifying six "outposts of tyranny" around the world. ...
 * Pablo Bachelet, "Rice: Cuba an 'outpost of tyranny,' Venezuela a `negative force'," Miami Herald, January 20, 2005.
 * "'Outposts of tyranny' Cuba and Iran thumb noses at Bush with cooperation deal," AFP, January 21, 2005.
 * Gary Younge, "A Fantasy of Freedom. If Bush Wanted to Tackle Tyranny, He Could Start with Regimes Under US Control. But liberty clearly has limits," Guardian/UK, January 25, 2005.
 * "Castro says Cuba doesn’t need US," Miami Herald, February 3, 2005.
 * Vanessa Arrington, "Castro calls Bush 'deranged person'," AP, February 3, 2005.
 * Simon Tisdall, "Regime change next door?," Guardian/UK, March 9, 2005: "The U.S. is expected to increase pressure on Cuba at next week's human rights meeting in Geneva, but Castro's new friends in Latin America may provide some protection."
 * "US state signs Cuban trade deal," BBC, December 12, 2005: "The governor of the US state of Maine, John Baldacci, has signed a multi-million dollar trade deal with Cuba's state-run food agency Alimport."
 * Anita Snow, "U.S. government calls for $80 million to hasten change in Cuba", Sun-Sentinel, July 10, 2006.
 * James C. McKinley, Jr., "Castro Is 'Stable,' but His Illness Presents Puzzle," New York Times, August 2, 2006.
 * David Sirota, "Bush walks right into Castro's trap," WorkingForChange, August 2, 2006.
 * Nelson Valdes, "The Buying of "Democracy" Agents in Cuba: The Politics of Unequal Exchange", CounterPunch, May 24 / 25, 2008.

External resources

 * Country Profile: Cuba, BBC.
 * Timeline: U.S.-Cuba Relations, BBC.
 * CubaGov.cu website.