Last month, the global tobacco control community lost one of its great intellects. Professor Teh-wei Hu passed away on 3 February 2020, following a short illness. Professor Hu was an economist whose expertise and accomplishments helped to establish tobacco taxes as one of the most effective measures to reduce smoking. In a career spanning 50 […]
Latest articles
Foundation for a Smoke Free World is not complementary to public health efforts – it’s undermining them
Heather Lusardi, Anna Gilmore, Ulysses Dorotheo The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW), established with almost US $1 billion from Philip Morris International, is essentially operating as a front group for Philip Morris International’s (PMI) interests. Unsurprisingly, therefore, overtures to the public health community have been repeatedly, firmly and publicly rejected: WHO has made clear […]
Denmark: a new era for tobacco control
Finn Edler von Eyben Public health in Denmark received an early Christmas present on 18 December 2019, when most political parties agreed on a new tobacco control plan for the country. The plan contains a raft of new measures, including plain packaging of tobacco products, a ban on point of sale advertising, strengthened smoke-free public […]
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 […]
The Philippines: Pioneering the Tobacco Endgame
Kathleen de Leon and Jacky T Sarita In global tobacco control, the Philippines is known as a particularly challenging environment due to long-standing tobacco industry influence. Over 15 years ago, it was termed the “strongest tobacco lobby in Asia”. The 2019 Southeast Asia Tobacco Industry Interference Index ranked the Philippines fifth among nine nations […]
Pakistan: time for stronger enforcement on tobacco control
Musaddique Hussain, Abdul Majeed, Imran Imran, Muhammad Fawad Rasool, Ikhlaq Hussain, Qasim Barkat, Ximei Wu Tobacco use continues to grow in Pakistan due to lack of awareness about its dangers, low prices, aggressive tobacco industry marketing efforts and steady population growth. According to Dr. Abid Saeed Nima, WHO’s acting chief in Pakistan, new estimates show […]
World: International Labour Organization (ILO) ends tobacco industry funding
Alice Grainger Gasser, corresponding author. Contributing authors: Leonce Dieudonné Sessou, Fastone Goma, Lutgard Kokulinda Kagaruki, Marty Otanez, Hellen Neima At the end of October, the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) endorsed its new integrated strategy for the tobacco sector. The decision ends ILO’s involvement in over a decade of tobacco industry corporate […]
World: PMI in global motorsport smoke-free PR spin
John Baker Mission Winnow (MW) is a PMI campaign claiming to focus on “…innovation and technology to expedite change” through sponsorship of the Ferrari Formula One (F1) team, the Pramac MotoE team and the Ducati MotoGP team. Ducati launched its 2019 bikes at PMI’s Cube building, with PMI’s Miroslaw Zielinski and the MW logo designer, […]
Tobacco is deadly. Calling it ‘popular’ may send the wrong message
Stephanie R. Land and Wen-Ying Sylvia Chou National Cancer Institute, USA Tobacco control efforts are regularly complicated by the entry of new tobacco products into the marketplace. New products are often not well understood by the public, including members of the target markets, healthcare professionals, and community leaders. For example, we may lack information […]
China: CTI’s quiet expansion strategy should be a concern for global public health
Ross MacKenzie, Jennifer Fang, Julia Smith In July this year, China Tobacco International (CTI) Hong Kong, the international arm of the China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC), launched into the stock market with an initial public offering (IPO). Outside of the financial media, the IPO attracted relatively little attention. However, the offering has implications far beyond […]