The New Zealand government has announced it will introduce tobacco plain packaging. The announcement follows cabinet consideration of a public consultation process, held in late 2012, which received approximately 300 substantive submissions together with an additional 20,000 responses. The announcement puts New Zealand on track to become the second country in the world to introduce plain packaging. In […]
Category: Legislation and Policy
Same meeting, different day – FDA fails to make real change to tobacco product consultation
Following Ruth Malone’s earlier letter declining to be part of a “facilitated dialogue” with the tobacco industry sponsored by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the FDA revised the schedule and invited her again to a meeting with public health, academic and government tobacco control leaders on the first day and invited tobacco industry […]
UK Department of Health invites former BAT executive Kenneth Clarke to speak on “Trade for Better Health”
Kelley Lee London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine In an email invitation to its “Health is Global, Partners Forum”, held on 22 November 2012, the UK Department of Health expressed pleasure that The Right Honourable Kenneth Clarke QC MP (Minister without portfolio and Trade Envoy) would speak on Trade for Better Health. The one-day meeting […]
Global tobacco treaty meetings marred by industry interference
This article is republished from Citizen News Service under a Creative Commons License. Original link: http://www.citizen-news.org/2012/11/global-tobacco-treaty-meetings-marred.html Governments to industry: you’re not welcome The global tobacco treaty negotiations concluded on 17th November 2012 after a week of Big Tobacco’s attempts to derail, distract, and intimidate 175 countries from strengthening lifesaving measures required by the public health […]
Clouding the UK policy debate on plain packaging
Kelley Lee Associate Fellow, Centre on Global Health Security, Chatham House In July 2012, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) launched a campaign against the UK Department of Health’s consultation on the plain packaging of tobacco products. The UK is one of JTI’s top five markets worldwide and there are fears that the UK, and potentially […]
The Australian High Court and the Marlboro Man: the plain packaging decision
By Matthew Rimmer, Australian National University The High Court of Australia’s ruling on the plain packaging of tobacco products is one of the great constitutional cases of our age. The ruling will resonate throughout the world – as other countries will undoubtedly seek to emulate Australia’s plain packaging regime. Having announced its ruling some weeks […]
European Parliamentary Committee and Japan Tobacco: a violation of article 5.3 of the FCTC?
Andrew Rowell and Anna Gilmore Bath University, UK On 17 September 2012, the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control held a public hearing on tobacco smuggling under the auspices of its Hercule III programme. Hercule III’s primary operational objective is to improve ‘the prevention and investigation of fraud, smuggling and counterfeiting, especially of cigarettes, […]
Child labour and the tobacco industry in Pakistan
Thanks to our colleagues from The Network for Consumer Protection, Pakistan who provided the information and video in this post. (www.thenetwork.org.pk) This video shows children in northwest Pakistan preparing tobacco leaves to be sent for drying. Children as young as five years old also work in tobacco farming, where they are vulnerable to poisoning from […]
Does tobacco deserve trade protection?
The use of trade agreements by tobacco companies to undermine tobacco control was a key topic at the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Singapore in March this year, and trade agreements are one of the weapons the tobacco industry is counting on to fight plain packaging. To ensure public health is given higher priority than […]
a wonderland of happiness
Picture a cigarette packet in your head. What’s the first thing that springs to mind? The gory health warnings? Probably not. If you have ever smoked, then no doubt an image of your preferred brand immediately pops in to your head. Even nonsmokers can easily describe the sleek and eye catching packages that expertly disguise […]