The 183 Parties to the global health treaty, WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) will convene in Geneva from 17 – 22 November with one objective – to strengthen their efforts to arrest the No.1 preventable cause of disease and 7 million deaths annually – tobacco use.

Credit: Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control

In October, the WHO FCTC Secretariat issued an alert to Parties preparing to head to Geneva for the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) urging them to stay vigilant against the industry’s tactics and misinformation.

According to the Andrew Black, the Acting Head of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC, “This is not just lobbying; it is a deliberate strategy to try to derail consensus and weaken measures to further the treaty’s implementation.”

Despite government efforts to implement the treaty adopted 20 years ago, the tobacco industry is a lucrative business. It is projected to generate a revenue of more than US$988 billion in 2025. Low- and middle-income countries bear the bulk of the tobacco burden where 80% of the world’s 1.2 billion tobacco users live.

Governments have identified tobacco industry interference as their biggest barrier to implementing tobacco control measures to save lives.

But the tool to address tobacco industry meddling is in governments’ hands. Known as Article 5.3, this obligatory clause in the FCTC, is based on principles of good governance and outlines specific actions governments can take to limit their interactions with the tobacco industry to only when strictly necessary for regulation.

The Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2025, a civil society report card on governments’ implementation of this article, found many governments were lacking in protecting public health. The Index covering 100 countries has exposed how the tobacco industry targeted and persuaded willing senior officials, especially from the non-health sectors, to protect its business and lobby on its behalf.

The newly released Index found the industry has not only become more aggressive in its meddling, but it is also more blatant and lobbied legislators including parliamentarians, ministers and governors who as elected officials can influence policy at the legislature.

Parliamentarians in 14 countries filed pro-industry bills, accepted industry input that resulted in delayed adoption of tobacco control laws or promoted legislation to benefit the industry.

The Index revealed very senior officials had accepted sponsored study trips to tobacco company facilities, the most common facility visited being the Philip Morris International’s research facility in Switzerland.

The tobacco industry has also used its charity to lure public officials and governments to endorse its activities and whitewash its public image. While 32 countries have banned tobacco-related CSR activities, 18 governments from LMICs, such as Bangladesh, Bolivia, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Jamaica and Zambia, collaborated and endorsed industry activities such as tree planting, community programs, assistance to farmers and cigarette butt cleanups.

Evidence shows tax increases on tobacco products is the silver bullet to reduce tobacco use. The Index found more than 60 of 100 countries were persuaded to not to increase tobacco tax, delay tax increases, lower tax rates, or give tax exemptions for certain products.

Over 40 countries resisted the tobacco industry’s misleading narrative on so called harm reduction and have banned e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. However, when a government prevails with stringent legislation, the industry has used the courts to challenge the law. In Mexico for example, when the government banned e-cigarettes in 2023, Philip Morris Mexico obtained an injunction from the Supreme Court to allow it to continue sales of these products.

Industry interference has obstructed tobacco growing countries such as Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia from even having basic bans on cigarette advertising and promotions. Now Big Tobacco is pushing new nicotine products in these countries and others, and creating the next generation of nicotine addicts.

The lack of transparency in governments’ interactions with the industry has provided a breeding ground for interference. The absence of lobby registers and disclosure procedures, and the failure to inform the public about meetings with the industry lets this interference continue.

But there is hope and positive outcome for public health when governments acted without compromise. Botswana, Ethiopia, Finland, Netherlands and Palau all show low levels of interference by protecting their bureaucracy. These countries are a testament to standing up to a powerful industry and arresting interference so they can fulfill their mandate to protect public health.

Dr Mary Assunta is the head of Global Research and Advocacy at the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control

IPS UN Bureau

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Credit: World Bank

By Mary Assunta and Irene Reyes
BANGKOK, Thailand, Dec 8 2023 (IPS)

As the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ( on Human Rights Day December 10), we turn the spotlight on a glaring contradiction the world is experiencing from a harmful industry. Despite causing 8 million annual deaths and a myriad of diseases, the tobacco industry has enjoyed six decades of the legal right to manufacture and sell its harmful products.

This travesty to human rights remains unaddressed with no admission of liability, compensation for victims, or withdrawal of the product.

Instead, the tobacco industry has thwarted and undermined government efforts to protect public health, intimidated governments with legal challenges, used exaggerated data to persuade policy makers that tobacco is a good investment, and funded charity during crisis to polish its tarnished image.

The tobacco business and human rights are diametrically opposed. To protect public health, the UN global treaty, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) has set standards to regulate the industry and reduce tobacco use globally.

Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC empowers governments to shield their tobacco control policies from being derailed and undermined by the tobacco industry and its representatives. Governments can address conflicts of interest issues and keep the industry at arm’s length.

In 2017, the UN Global Compact removed the tobacco companies from its list in recognition of the harm caused by tobacco and hence deserving distinct treatment.

Despite the strong action from the UN system, the tobacco industry has remained defiant. To spruce up its image, it is even mischievously associating itself with human rights. Reports from Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco claim to “respect” human rights, and BAT released a report on human rights and modern slavery.

Unfortunately, many governments have not utilised Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC which provides clear guidance to avoid conflicts of interest and unnecessary interactions with the tobacco industry.

The 2023 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, a survey of 90 countries, has reported widespread unnecessary interactions between the government and the tobacco industry, opening the door for conflicts of interest through potential partnerships and collaborations. These interactions occurred even in countries that prohibit such engagements.

The Global Index is a civil society report on how well governments are protecting their health policies from tobacco industry interference according to the recommendations in Article 5.3 Guidelines and ranks countries accordingly
(Figure 1).

Some governments have taken action, but still face meddling from the industry. For example when they limit interactions with the tobacco industry, they often face challenges from industry-funded front groups, as seen in Uganda and Brazil. Usually, governments are unaware of their industry links because they have not implemented transparency measures.

The Global Index found that transparency and accountability are lacking globally, with most countries failing to implement rules for disclosure of industry ties. Most countries do not have rules for disclosure of meetings with the tobacco industry, a register of lobbyists from the tobacco industry, or policies to require the tobacco industry to disclose information on its marketing and lobbying.

In Asia, none of the 19 countries surveyed have a registry disclosing affiliations, or individuals linked to or operating on the tobacco industry’s behalf.

Since the harms of smoking are well established, the tobacco industry is now rebranding itself as a “responsible and caring industry” by marketing supposedly less harmful products, while simultaneously undermining government efforts to combat the tobacco epidemic and protect future generations.

Vaping (use of e-cigarettes) was even presented as ‘a human rights issue’ at an industry-sponsored event claiming it should be made affordable for smokers in poor countries. In Argentina, Malaysia, Philippines and Pakistan, industry front groups participated in discussions on the regulation of e-cigarettes and HTPs to convince governments to embrace these products.

The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance warns of the alarming increase in vaping, particularly among the youths. Countries that allow sales of e-cigarettes such as Canada, Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines and the UK, have all seen rapid and high uptake by youths because enforcement is a challenge, as traders continue to market to minors, offering products in appealing designs and thousands of flavors and making them easily accessible online.

In 2022, the Philippines passed legislation on e-cigarettes that lowered the purchase age, allowed flavors and online advertising, contributing to the alarming rise of vaping among Filipino adolescents. The ease of access through online shopping platforms, lacking age verification, exacerbates the problem.

Malaysia recently passed a new omnibus tobacco control law, seen as weaker than originally proposed, and some policy makers have pointed a finger at Big Tobacco’s influence particularly in removing a forward-thinking generational endgame clause.

By yielding to industry influence, Malaysia has missed an opportunity to prevent future generations from becoming victims of the tobacco epidemic.

Malaysia ranked 78 out of 90 countries in the Global Index and their scores have been deteriorating over the years by allowing the tobacco industry in policy development and engaging in unnecessary interactions with the industry.

Governments alone hold the power to determine the health standards for their citizens and decide how to protect the current and future generations. Every instance of a government yielding to tobacco industry lobbying, represent a step backward in ensuring health and fundamental human rights of their people.

Mary Assunta is the Head of Global Research and Advocacy at Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control; Irene Reyes is the Tobacco Industry Denormalization Manager at Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance

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Credit: WHO

By Mary Assunta
BANGKOK, Thailand, Jun 9 2023 (IPS)

The second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution (INC-2), held in Paris, France, from May 29 to June 02, 2023, concluded with optimism and the prospect of ending plastics pollution. Over 700 delegates from 169 Member States agreed to prepare a zero draft of agreement ahead of the third session in November this year.

Among the more important and interesting debates, health advocates attending the negotiations reported that it was essential to discuss “how to categorize the thousands of types of plastics, chemical precursors and products in a way that allows for a coherent approach to ending plastic pollution.

Some favoured focusing on the chemical precursors, eliminating the most toxic and polluting ones,” while others acknowledged that not every type of plastic could be recycled or reinvented, and certain plastics like cigarette filters need to disappear for good.

Leonce Sessou, speaking on behalf of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), Corporate Accountability (CA), African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA), and other members of the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA), urged Member States to align the future legally binding instrument on plastics with the public health objective of ending the tobacco epidemic, to which most have already committed via the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Tobacco control groups, for example, called for the elimination of cigarette filters. They drew attention to the fact that cigarette butts are some of the most prevalent forms of plastic pollution on the planet and harm land and marine ecosystems.

They reminded delegates to align with human rights and health treaties, particularly the WHO FCTC, and make the tobacco industry pay for its pollution and legacy waste. The WHO FCTC health treaty seeks to reduce the supply and demand for tobacco and protect health policies by keeping the tobacco industry out of policy meetings.

According to a WHO report which called for a ban on cigarette filters, about 4.5 trillion discarded filters (butts) from the almost six trillion cigarettes consumed globally find their way into the environment annually.

They are the top waste item collected from coastlines and urban settings. Cigarette filters are small enough to be ingested by marine animals, and when these plastic filters break down, they release thousands of microplastic particles.

Microplastics have been detected in commercial seafood, other food items, drinking water, and human tissue; this contamination is a threat to food safety and security.

Research shows cigarette butts are a source of microplastic contamination that creates chemical pollution (due to the toxic chemicals found in tobacco products) that leach into the environment. Cigarette butt leachates are found to harm various forms of aquatic organisms, including key food sources for fish and shellfish.

Experts agree that banning cigarette filters is the best solution to this plastic and toxic waste problem. Clean-ups, anti-littering legislation, and redesigning filters for recyclability or biodegradability have not worked and are not viable solutions.

Government committees from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark have recently called for a ban on filters and recommended the same for the rest of the European Union Member States.

For at least five decades, the tobacco industry has known that cigarette filters provide no health benefits; instead, they make cigarettes burn hotter, deliver more nicotine, and increase addiction.

Yet they have misled smokers into thinking filters make cigarettes “safer.” As awareness around smoking increased, the tobacco industry made advertisements for filtered cigarettes more appealing to pacify smokers’ concerns.

Advocates participating in the INC-2 reported a lot of misunderstandings related to cigarette filters that are yet to be addressed. In its blog on day 5 of the negotiations, ASH stated, “Many people, not just people who smoke, assume filters make cigarettes safer rather than more dangerous.”

Numerous countries already have a national policy banning single-use plastics such as plastic bags, straws, and cotton buds but have inadvertently not included cigarette filters. However, advocates speaking to government delegates found widespread support for a ban on cigarette filters.

As the possibility of a cigarette filter ban gathers momentum, the tobacco industry’s public relations (PR) machinery is already in motion implementing beach cleans-ups and cigarette butt collection activities through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs across the globe.

Before the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution (INC-3) resumes in Nairobi in November, governments must remember that the tobacco industry is not a stakeholder but a polluter that must be held liable for the myriad harms it has caused as well as continues to cause to human health and the environment.

Over 100 non-governmental health organizations of the STPA, along with other environmental groups such as Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Ecowaste Coalition, Break Free From Plastic (BFFP), Ban Toxics (Philippines), Our Sea of East Asia Network (OSEAN), Development Indian Ocean Network, Earthday.org (Earth Day Network), Green Africa Youth Organization, Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance, and Boomerang Alliance have called for the elimination of cigarette filters.

Mary Assunta is Senior Policy Advisor, Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA)

IPS UN Bureau

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A cigarette vendor in Manila sells a pack of 20 sticks for less than a dollar. Credit: Kara Santos/IPS

By Mary Assunta and Wendell Balderas
BANGKOK, Thailand, Mar 14 2019 (IPS)

International Women’s Day on 8 March recognized and celebrated the progress women are making globally. The day also acknowledged the risks, exploitation and suffering many continue to endure.

The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) puts the spotlight on the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics targeting women and girls especially in Asia to market its deadly products.

While smoking prevalence among females remains relatively low in Asia, smoking rates among adolescent girls in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand however are higher than the rate among adult women respectively (9.1% vs 5.8%; 2.4% vs 1.4%; 5.2% vs 1.7%). Despite governments’ efforts to protect public health, tobacco use remains at epidemic proportions.

This is no coincidence. The tobacco industry needs “replacement” customers to maintain and increase its profits, and women and girls are an important market segment which represent the largest product-marketing opportunity the tobacco industry exploits.

Internal tobacco industry documents reveal that the tobacco industry has been notoriously targeting women and girls through their ads and novel products that promote social desirability, independence, sophistication, glamor, romance, and fun.

Women and girls, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), are smoking in greater numbers than ever before. The tobacco industry has been introducing new products framed as “innovation” by refreshing brand marketing devices and imagery to appeal to women and young girls.

Through these product “innovation”, transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) introduce cigarette brands with new characteristics as flavored capsules and flavored filters and packaged and labelled with glitzy promotion.

These so-called innovations are gimmicks on specific product designs including filters, capsules, flavors, shape, color and perceived product’s strength or mildness.

Credit: Bigstock

Some of the tobacco industry’s deceptive tactics which blur the truth about the hazards of tobacco and instead promote smoking in developing countries among women and girls include the following:

• • In Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, some cigarettes brands are in “Lipstick” packs. Female-targeted elegant slims or super slim cigarettes are also packaged in slimmer packs and influences beliefs about smoking and weight control – an important predictor of smoking behavior among women.

• • In Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam “Less smoke smell (LSS)” technology has been used to promote cigarettes designed to reduce secondhand smoke odor.

• • Kiddie packs (10 to 12 sticks) are also available in Indonesia and the Philippines.

• • Flavor capsules in cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular and increase attractiveness of smoking. Some cigarettes sold in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam have capsule filters that can be crushed to release additional menthol or other flavoring.

• Colors play an important role to enhance cigarette packaging and labeling to represent flavors and strength within brand families. The brand image is created by attention-grabbing designs and appealing colors to indicate flavors (such as strawberry, orange and apple) and communicate the false impression of lower tar or mild cigarette. Gold and silver convey ‘low-tar’, green for menthol and blue for ‘light’ or icy/cool.

To divert public attention away from the harm and damage caused by the industry, the TTCs have been conducting public relations stunts about employment and gender equity.

Philip Morris International boasted an ‘Equal-Salary certification’ it received, conveniently timed for International Women’s Day. TTCs routinely receive an obscure ‘top employer’ awards while simultaneously fighting smoke-free policies.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “a woman’s risk of dying from smoking has more than tripled and is now equal to men’s risk”. This means that women are also at higher risk for heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer, emphysema, and other serious chronic illnesses such as diabetes.

A sudden concern for smoking is the new public rhetoric of the tobacco industry to justify a new range of so-called “less harmful” products such as heated tobacco products, while simultaneously selling regular cigarettes which form the bulk of their profits.

The current sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, (11 – 22 March) is expected address women empowerment and their vital roles as agents of development in making progress across all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets.

It is timely to discuss the tobacco epidemic among women especially in the LMICs and the concerted effort governments must make to curb this scourge.

Preventing an epidemic of tobacco-related diseases among women in the LMICs is one of the greatest public health opportunities for governments of our time. The global health treaty, WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has been explicitly identified as a means to achieve the SDG health goal.

Steps governments should take to prevent this epidemic include banning tobacco advertising and promotions such as pack displays and applying plain packaging which requires cigarette packs to be sold in a standardized size, shape, and drab brown color, free of any logos or images.

In September 2019, Thailand’s legislation on standardized packaging of tobacco will take effect and Singapore will follow soon. Standardized packaging removes the attractiveness of tobacco products and reduces the ability of tobacco packaging to mislead consumers about its harmful effects.

Other equally important actions in the FCTC include increasing tobacco taxes and making public and work places 100% smoke-free.

*SEATCA is a multi-sectoral non-governmental alliance promoting health and saving lives by assisting ASEAN countries to accelerate and effectively implement the evidence-based tobacco control measures contained in the WHO FCTC. Acknowledged by governments, academic institutions, and civil society for its advancement of tobacco control movements in Southeast Asia, the WHO bestowed on SEATCA the World No Tobacco Day Award in 2004 and the WHO Director-General’s Special Recognition Award in 2014.

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