Karen Evans-Reeves On June 1st 2025 a ban on the sale of single-use vapes came into force in the UK. The law, introduced by the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) aims to reduce the appeal of vaping to youth and stem the environmental damage of plastic and toxic waste. This law comes ahead […]
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World Health Assembly 78, the WHO Pandemic Agreement, Financing for Development, Plastics Treaty and World No Tobacco Day: Reflections on tobacco control in health, development and justice
Deborah Sy Just days after the close of the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78) in Geneva which highlighted the adoption of the pandemic treaty and lung health (Promoting and Prioritizing an integrated lung health approach), the global community marked World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2025. WNTD is an opportunity to reflect on how global health […]
Arkansas’s Pathway to Prosperity
Travis Douglass Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death worldwide, claiming millions of lives each year and placing a heavy burden on healthcare systems across the globe. In the United States, Medicaid acts as a critical safety net, offering free or low-cost healthcare coverage to low-income individuals, including seniors, children, and people with […]
Canada: Polluter pays – tobacco industry required to reimburse annual costs in government’s national tobacco control strategy
Rob Cunningham In Canada, national regulations have been adopted requiring tobacco companies to reimburse to the Canadian government the annual costs of tobacco-related expenses in the national tobacco control strategy. This tobacco manufacturer cost recovery fee, which implements the principle of polluter pays, will require companies to pay proportionately based on their market share. The […]
Health advocates worldwide oppose Philippines’ World Health Assembly presidency nomination following tobacco industry corporate social responsibility activities in the Philippines
E. Ulysses Dorotheo On World Health Day (April 7), more than 50 public health and tobacco control groups, led by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), submitted a petition to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, protesting the Philippines’ nomination to preside over the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) taking place in Geneva in […]
Smart Disposable E-cigarettes: characteristics and capabilities of new generation devices
Artur Galimov, Liam Obaid, Jennifer B. Unger Despite ongoing regulatory efforts to curb the vaping epidemic, the tobacco industry continues to introduce new products with innovative features. The industry has been particularly creative in attracting younger audiences by marketing devices that resemble toys and vaping devices with built-in video games. Recently, e-cigarette manufacturers launched a […]
The Ploom case: defying German law
Dr. Katrin Schaller In Germany, the heated tobacco product (HTP) ‘Iqos’ from Philip Morris has been available since 2017 and ‘Glo’ from British American Tobacco since 2020. In May 2024, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) became the third tobacco company to launch its HTP ‘Ploom’ in Germany. When it was launched, Ploom was available online throughout […]
Nepal Leads with 100% Graphic Health Warnings in Tobacco: A Global Benchmark in Tobacco Control
Kiran Paudel, Kamal Gautam, Sangam Shah, Roman Shrestha. Nepal has achieved a historic public health milestone by becoming the first country in the world to implement 100% pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs. Following the legislation being passed, the Government of Nepal is notifying all tobacco companies about the new health warning requirements. After a […]
Tobacco Industry Interference in Spanish Tobacco Product Waste Management
Laurent Huber, Raquel Fernández Megina, Ubaldo Cuadrado. On October 22, 2024, the Spanish government released Royal Decree1093/2024 to regulate the management and cleanup of waste from tobacco products. The decree applies to tobacco product filters and single-use filters that contain plastic used with tobacco products, to comply with the European Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European […]
Tobacco 10-Packs: A Failed Deal Between BAT/PTC in Pakistan and Sudan
Waseem Iftikhar Janjua, Syed Ali Wasif Naqvi & Raouf Alebshehy British American Tobacco (BAT – and its subsidiary Pakistan Tobacco Company PTC) have a long and well-evidenced history of deception and influencing policies. Additionally, within Pakistan, there is a history of BAT gaining the support of British diplomats to influence the policy process. In November […]