Anne Jones, Technical Advisor

The Union http://www.theunion.org/ 

(Formerly International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease)

12-14 August Jaipur, India: Stopping tobacco industry interference in health policies was high on the agenda for 24 policy makers and health leaders when they met to workshop a new toolkit on implementing Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 5.3.  The workshop, organised by The Union South-East Asia Office in New Delhi, was convened to assist with the development of action plans for monitoring, exposing and stopping tobacco industry interference in health policies.

The group developed plans for implementing government directives and codes of conduct aimed at ending conflicts of interest.  Participants on the final day made the “Jaipur Promise” – a commitment to reverse the one  million tobacco deaths every year by protecting health policies from the increasingly aggressive interference of powerful tobacco interests. The Union toolkit can be downloaded here.