Coral Gartner, Kathryn Steadman, Lisa Nissen In Australia, nicotine-containing vape products are only available on prescription, and reforms to further restrict the availability of vaping products are planned which will make the country’s vaping laws among the most restrictive in the world. In a recent Special Communication, Professor Coral Gartner and colleagues argue for an […]
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Advancing Environmental Protection at COP10: Implications for Tobacco’s Toxic Plastics and Extended Producer Responsibility
Deborah Sy In the ongoing battle against plastic pollution to protect the marine environment, a decision at COP10 on the implementation of Article 18 (Protection of the Environment) serves as a beacon of hope. Every year, some 4.5 trillion littered plastic cigarette butts contribute to the consistent ranking for the top plastic items in debris […]
COP 10: Action needed to prevent tobacco industry interference in environmental solutions
Deborah Sy and Lilia Olefir In its 10th session, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Conference of the Parties (COP) has for the first time, an opportunity to support the development of options for using liability to protect the environment, as suggested by the Draft Decision on WHO FCTC Article 19 initially proposed […]
Sluggish and yielding: Governments’ response to aggressive tobacco industry interference – 2023 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index
Mary Assunta The tobacco industry (TI), that peddles harmful and addictive products globally, has intensified its interference to sabotage and undermine public health policy. Many governments succumbed to its influence mainly because they failed to act cohesively when dealing with the industry and its tactics. No country has been spared from the interference and there […]
“Thank you for smoking”: New Aotearoa/New Zealand government ditches history-making smoke-free plan to fund tax cuts
Ruth Canty and Marita Hefler New Zealand has announced it will repeal the country’s world-leading smokefree laws. Faced with a choice between leading a turning point in the global tobacco epidemic or turning back the clock, New Zealand’s new incoming coalition government chose the latter. The new coalition government is made up of right-wing parties, […]
Advocates call for urgent reform of Bangladesh’s tobacco tax system
Mahir Dyan Amin, ABM Zubair, Md. Shahedul Alam, Md. Hasan Shahriar Bangladesh is globally the 9th largest cigarette market. Adolescent (13-15 year olds) smoking prevalence is 9.2% and over 35% of those aged over 15 are currently smoking. Tobacco use claims 161,000 lives a year and incapacitates hundreds of thousands of people. A 2019 study […]
Nicotine pouches may present a youth risk
Oulmann Zerhouni, Sandra Loisy, Renaud Bouthier, Valentin Flaudias The evolving nicotine product landscape has seen the introduction of nicotine pouches in recent years, which are becoming increasingly popular among youth. This trend requires swift action from public health officials and policymakers. Although comprehensive data on the use of nicotine pouches are limited, their appeal appears […]
India: Mandatory anti-tobacco warnings to feature on over-the-top platforms such as Netflix
Srishti Nawani and Sonu Goel India has taken a ground-breaking step in public health by becoming the first country to mandate anti-tobacco warnings and disclaimers on over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. OTT platforms are digital services delivering multimedia content over the internet, bypassing traditional broadcasting avenues. The ruling […]
Dutch court in position to end Low Tar Lie
John Maa and Jeffrey Wigand A long-awaited advance in global tobacco control to address the “Low Tar Lie” is currently playing out in the Netherlands. After a five-year legal process, the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal heard final arguments in June 2023 in a lawsuit brought by the Dutch Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation. This […]
Uruguay: civil society challenges tobacco industry interference
Laura LlambÍ, Diego Rodriguez, Beatriz Goja, Adriana Rodriguez, Ana Lorenzo Over the past few decades, Uruguay has secured great achievements in tobacco control, followed in turn, by favourable health outcomes. After becoming the first indoor-smoke-free country in the Americas region in 2006, a comprehensive tobacco control law was passed in 2008. By this time, the Uruguayan government […]