Indonesia has once again emerged as a clear laggard in curbing tobacco industry interference in policy-making, according to a report ranking countries in the Southeast Asia region based on their level of implementation of Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). It is the third annual report on tobacco industry interference […]
Category: Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
Uruguay: five key messages from Philip Morris’ failed challenge to packaging laws
Hot on the heels of the tobacco industry’s failed legal challenge to the UK’s tobacco plain packaging laws in May 2016, Philip Morris suffered a new defeat in July, this time in its long-running case against Uruguay’s health warning labels. The McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer has prepared a paper outlining key aspects of the judgement which are […]
UK plain packs court decision: interests at stake ‘collide in the most irreconcilable of ways’
The decision on 19 May 2016 by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales to dismiss the legal challenges brought by the four multinational tobacco companies against the UK’s tobacco plain packaging legislation was a major blow to the industry. The 386 page ruling addresses a wide range of legal claims and evidence; […]
Industry-funded International Tax and Investment Center responds to criticism by attempting to muddy the waters
Karen A Evans-Reeves, Anna B Gilmore and Andy Rowell Tobacco Control Research Group, University of Bath, The tobacco industry is under attack. In just two weeks, in May 2016, its tactic of challenging any law that threatens its profits, took a big hit. The arbitration panel, that tobacco giant Philip Morris International (PMI) had hoped […]
Germany: tobacco graphic health warnings to finally turn the tide?
In a welcome step forward from the weak text-only ‘smoking can be deadly’ and similar warnings that have thus far graced cigarette packs, Germany is set to introduce graphic health warnings. Despite tentative progress in recent years, Germany has historically been one of Europe’s poster children for tobacco control legislative failure. That reputation may begin […]
Liability: untapped potential in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
Chris Bostic, Richard Daynard and Tamar Lawrence-Samuel The history of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is filled with one unprecedented victory after another (see page 21). The next milestone for the treaty can—and should— tap the potential of Article 19 to hold the industry liable. Though the implementation of measures in line with Articles […]
Tobacco industry attacks WHO, but only incriminates itself
Mary Assunta, Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance The tobacco industry lost the health argument 50 years ago, and in the past decade the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) developed the antidote to reverse the smoking epidemic. However the tobacco industry is stepping up direct attacks, particularly at WHO. Recently the industry took […]
Big tobacco, child labour and the International Labour Organization
“The aim is to inhibit incorporation of ILO into WHO Anti-Smoking Program” So states a Philip Morris memo from December 1988, available through the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents (see page 8). Nearly 30 years on, the tobacco industry appears to be doing very well at nurturing its alliance with the International Labour Organization […]
Lithuania: FCTC breaches undermine tobacco control progress
Vaida Liutkutė Health research institute Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (Note: this is an edited version of an article published in the January 2016 edition of News Analysis). The FCTC took effect in Lithuania on 16 March 2005, making it among the earliest countries to be subject to its legal obligations. Despite this, violations of […]
Philip Morris agreement with Spanish police: undermining the FCTC?
On 29 October, Philip Morris Spain signed an agreement with the Spanish police to fund equipment including underwater cameras, night vision systems, and scanners for verifying authentication and tracking of tobacco products. The agreement also includes support during inspections and seizures of counterfeit products to assess possible illegal activities regarding the entire production and distribution […]