Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is being sued over their inaction on menthol cigarettes. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and our colleagues at The African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC) are calling on the court to require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fulfill their mandate and stop […]
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COVID-19 and smoking: resources, research and news
This page provides resources, research and news reports about COVID19 and smoking, vaping and other tobacco products for the information of health professionals, researchers and the general public. (Last updated 9 September 2020) Tobacco Control & BMJ publications COVID-19, smoking and inequalities: a study of 53 002 adults in the UK “…current smoking was independently […]
World: tobacco industry hydra’s many political investment heads
Isra Ahmad The tobacco industry has a history of financial investments (including lobbying) in political activity, impacting voter-based decision making on a global scale. A 2015 study from Oklahoma, USA found that legislators with the largest amounts of campaign contributions and gifts from tobacco lobbyists performed actions that were critical to advance tobacco industry objectives. […]
Mexico: cultural icons and giveaways for vaping advertising on Instagram
Guadalupe Ponciano-Rodríguez and Carlos Alberto Chávez Castillo Although they are legally forbidden in Mexico, Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) have increased in popularity, despite the fact that evidence about their potential harms and benefits is still evolving and contested. Vaping-related advertising on social media is increasing, particularly on platforms popular with young people. We recently […]
China: Tobacco and Belt and Road Initiative – the new ‘Go Global’?
Jennifer Fang China National Tobacco Company (CNTC) is the world’s largest manufacturer of cigarettes, accounting for a third of the total global output. The powerful state-owned tobacco monopoly, previously focused on the vast domestic market with 350 million smokers, has been nurturing growing global ambitions since the early 2000s. Faced by an increasingly saturated domestic […]
Chevrons, barcodes and arrows: PMI’s continued subliminal promotion of combustible products
John Baker and Pascal Diethelm Philip Morris International (PMI) has both actively and subliminally advertised its Marlboro brand in F1 since the 1970’s. Several host countries gradually implemented advertising bans, however at many of these venues, Marlboro-backed teams and drivers raced with chevrons, and chevron-themed track signage was also visible. At other venues, teams used a […]
Netherlands: National Prevention Accord to improve health and reduce smoking
Dirk Jan A van Mourik and Marc C Willemsen The Netherlands has been criticised for its slow implementation of FCTC measures, with even a short period of reversal of tobacco control progress between 2010 and 2012. More recently, however, the government has taken a much more positive stance towards tobacco control. One year ago, a four-party […]
Taking the E-asy path: E-cigarettes not the only option to address tobacco harms
May C.I. van Schalkwyk Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London. m.van-schalkwyk@imperial.ac.uk There has, and continues to be, much debate about the stance taken by some organisations in the United Kingdom (UK) on the role of e-cigarettes in the battle to avert the unparalleled harm caused by the consumption of tobacco products. […]
How should governments deal with multinational consulting firms that work for the tobacco industry?
George Thomson, Louise Delany Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand george.thomson@otago.ac.nz The New Zealand Ministry of Health is currently using a consulting firm EY (formerly Ernst & Young) to research the impacts of tobacco taxation, despite EY’s work locally and internationally for tobacco companies. This decision may breach the Framework […]
Ensuring a transparent, inclusive, civilian and scientific-oriented World Tobacco Control Conference – statement from Taiwanese delegates
Editors note: The joint statement below is from delegates from Taiwan who were excluded from the 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health, held in Cape Town, South Africa from 7-9 March. Comment was sought from the conference secretariat; the full list of questions put to them, and their response, are at the end of […]