OUR IMPACT: 1.18 billion people in 30 countries where tobacco industry interference in government now faces restrictions*
Countering tobacco industry interference in development and implementation of tobacco control policy is a challenge faced by all countries working to reduce tobacco use. The industry aggressively targets both consumers [through various advertising and marketing campaigns] and governments, through direct threats of legal action and via front groups from think tanks and lobby groups to farmers’ associations and the hospitality industry.
Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control addresses tobacco industry interference. The Union published comprehensive guidance for governments on best practice implementation in 2012 - the Article 5.3 Toolkit.
Increasingly the tobacco industry is using international trade agreements to bring legal challenges against countries who implement strong tobacco control laws, for example high impact graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging. Intellectual property rights have also been used by the industry to challenge new plain tobacco packaging, as seen in Australia.
*Updated April 2019