October 25, 2011   World Health Organization Director Dr. Margaret Chan drew the line firmly in the sand. “I call on heads of state and heads of government to stand rock-hard against the despicable efforts of the tobacco industry to subvert” the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), Chan told the United Nations last month. “We must stand firm against their open and extremely aggressive tactics.”

Tobacco industry bids to undermine tobacco prevention and control measures by mounting legal challenges based on international trade treaties appear to have become all the rage, to the dismay of public health advocates. Australia, Norway and Uruguay now face such trade-related lawsuits. Two similar suits against Thailand and the United States were recently settled in the industry’s favour. And as Chan indicated, legal skirmishing underway at the World Trade Organization suggests that many more countries will soon join the list of industry targets.

For More Information:
http://www.cmaj.ca/site/earlyreleases/24oct11_tobacco-control-measures-under-industry-assault.xhtml