Deborah Sy and Lilia Olefir In its 10th session, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Conference of the Parties (COP) has for the first time, an opportunity to support the development of options for using liability to protect the environment, as suggested by the Draft Decision on WHO FCTC Article 19 initially proposed […]
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Sluggish and yielding: Governments’ response to aggressive tobacco industry interference – 2023 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index
Mary Assunta The tobacco industry (TI), that peddles harmful and addictive products globally, has intensified its interference to sabotage and undermine public health policy. Many governments succumbed to its influence mainly because they failed to act cohesively when dealing with the industry and its tactics. No country has been spared from the interference and there […]
Advocates call for urgent reform of Bangladesh’s tobacco tax system
Mahir Dyan Amin, ABM Zubair, Md. Shahedul Alam, Md. Hasan Shahriar Bangladesh is globally the 9th largest cigarette market. Adolescent (13-15 year olds) smoking prevalence is 9.2% and over 35% of those aged over 15 are currently smoking. Tobacco use claims 161,000 lives a year and incapacitates hundreds of thousands of people. A 2019 study […]
Nicotine pouches may present a youth risk
Oulmann Zerhouni, Sandra Loisy, Renaud Bouthier, Valentin Flaudias The evolving nicotine product landscape has seen the introduction of nicotine pouches in recent years, which are becoming increasingly popular among youth. This trend requires swift action from public health officials and policymakers. Although comprehensive data on the use of nicotine pouches are limited, their appeal appears […]
India: Mandatory anti-tobacco warnings to feature on over-the-top platforms such as Netflix
Srishti Nawani and Sonu Goel India has taken a ground-breaking step in public health by becoming the first country to mandate anti-tobacco warnings and disclaimers on over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. OTT platforms are digital services delivering multimedia content over the internet, bypassing traditional broadcasting avenues. The ruling […]
Dutch court in position to end Low Tar Lie
John Maa and Jeffrey Wigand A long-awaited advance in global tobacco control to address the “Low Tar Lie” is currently playing out in the Netherlands. After a five-year legal process, the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal heard final arguments in June 2023 in a lawsuit brought by the Dutch Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation. This […]
Changing the Business Climate
Adriana Blanco Marquizo United Nations bodies already offer the tools to remove industry obstacles from the path of a liveable climate and improved public health. The global community must use them. For decades, the vehicle industry produced vehicle fuel with lead additives. The decision by carmakers and refiners to use lead helped vehicles achieve greater […]
Honouring Tobacco Control’s Reviewers of the Year for 2021 AND 2022
Ruth Malone Beginning in 2015, Tobacco Control’s senior editorial team has honoured individuals as Reviewers of the Year, awarding them a one-year electronic subscription to the journal and accolades that are well-deserved. As noted in this editorial introducing the awards, these individuals are a “generally invisible group whose unpaid and too-often unheralded work is critical […]
Tobacco Companies target customers with menthol alternatives to circumvent upcoming California sales ban
Jodie Briggs and Andrew B. Seidenberg In 2020, California lawmakers achieved a public health victory in passing a law banning the sale of flavoured tobacco products. The law came in response to the toll that menthol plays in smoking initiation, youth use, and the disproportionate impact on Black communities, as well as the high rates […]
Is tobacco promotion through music making a comeback?
Alexander Barker We know that there are tobacco references in music and in the image portrayed by musicians, often associated with themes of rebellion. Smoking content in the media is a causal factor in experimentation and uptake by young people, likely due to social learning. Furthermore, the tobacco industry has previously attempted to target ‘hip’ […]