Bronwyn King: You may be accidentally investing in cigarette companies
Dr. Bronwyn King on a mission to save a billion lives -- from tobacco, the greatest preventable cause of premature death. Full bio
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planning to save the world.
on a lung cancer unit.
were smokers or ex-smokers,
smoking when they were children
in a beautiful, wealthy country,
sophisticated medicines,
of my patients died.
firsthand, day-by-day,
I'm a radiation oncologist,
caused by tobacco.
having my first ever meeting
from my superannuation fund.
I'm sure you can imagine.
there are other options?"
rolled his eyes, and said,
investing in mining, alcohol or tobacco."
I'm currently investing in tobacco?"
you own part of that company.
and succeed and thrive.
to attract new customers,
to sell more of its products.
that I wanted less.
one person standing here
on this enormous stage.
at seven million people
have died as a result of tobacco
were launched today,
had killed seven million people.
in that new, deadly industry?
pressing global issues of our time,
in the problem than we may realize.
explained to me
of my portfolio.
which international shares do I have?"
two weeks later with this list:
in international shares
the Swedish Match company.
were tobacco companies,
my super fund, it was all of them.
it wasn't just superannuation funds,
it wasn't just Australia.
with the tobacco industry.
that kill seven million people every year.
with my superannuation fund,
issues to deal with, these days.
why it is reasonable
ask a suite of three questions
they might invest our money.
by the company be used safely?
of cigarettes for a human being.
so significant on a global level
to a UN treaty or convention?
global impact of tobacco.
is that the world is on track
deaths this century.
to the concept of engagement.
want to be good corporate citizens.
engage with them,
be an effective lever for change?
the tobacco industry is futile.
their primary business.
with the tobacco industry
three simple questions,
and defensible
investment in the tobacco industry.
that demands that we act on tobacco.
the Sustainable Development Goals.
straight to number three:
tobacco control regulation
to achieve that goal.
of the 17 goals cannot be achieved
of the tobacco industry.
health sector doing everything it can
suffering as a result of tobacco.
seven million people have died,
aligned on tobacco, 180 of them,
the provisions of the UN tobacco treaty.
to lend money to tobacco companies,
from tobacco companies,
"the global tobacco epidemic,"
to stand side by side
to deal with sensitive issues.
global conventions.
being invested in the tobacco industry
to consider them.
and fewer people will smoke,
tobacco regulation.
on cigarette packets in Canada,
to give them right back to the salespeople
the ones that say they'll kill me?"
regulation reduces consumption,
committed to more regulation.
and the risk that presents.
of the tobacco industry
externalizes all of the health costs
communities pay, you pay, I pay.
externalizes all those costs,
US dollars per year.
and privatize the profits.
that the tobacco industry
for those health costs,
15 billion US dollars.
why should any of us, in any country,
of the tobacco industry?
and the risk there.
significantly relies on child labor.
Labour Organization
child labor is rampant."
that use children to produce tobacco leaf.
to escape public attention.
reputation risk to consider
that continue to maintain an affiliation
as the world's least reputable industry.
100,000 children start smoking.
inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
are from the poorest communities on earth.
that people start smoking
but the worst thing here
data from every country on earth,
with finance leaders,
of Melbourne and Sydney
and all across the globe,
in the tobacco industry,
when they're presented with the facts,
they want to be part of the solution.
from "Should we go tobacco-free?"
by leading financial organizations
the Netherlands, Sweden,
fund managers, pension funds,
has been redirected
in the tobacco industry.
announcement in March this year,
investment returns
we need to ask ourselves.
below which we will not sink
and incredible support.
a princess on your team.
a knight, a former premier,
and a stack of CEOs.
with these highly influential people.
part of the solution.
their banks and their insurers.
in companies that make products
for one billion people
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Bronwyn King - Oncologist, tobacco-free advocateDr. Bronwyn King on a mission to save a billion lives -- from tobacco, the greatest preventable cause of premature death.
Why you should listen
After stumbling upon what she calls "the missing piece of global tobacco control," Dr. Bronwyn King abandoned plans for a career in medicine to start Tobacco Free Portfolios, a charity that brings the reality of tobacco into corporate boardrooms across the globe.
By working collaboratively with the global finance sector -- big banks, insurers and pension funds -- Dr. King and her team have been instrumental in major financial organizations in a dozen countries moving to tobacco-free finance, shifting more than twelve billion US dollars away from investment in tobacco. And she is just getting started.
Dr. King previously worked as Team Doctor for the Australian Swimming Team, was listed in 2014 as one of the Westpac/Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence and has received a host of medals and awards for building a bridge between the global health and finance sectors.
Bronwyn King | Speaker | TED.com