In the previous chapter, we learned that when government officials interact with the tobacco industry, it must be only to the extent strictly necessary for effective implementation of the regulations. How should government officials then act if the tobacco industry attempts to engage them? Unnecessary interactions must always be avoided and rejected where possible. To do this, it is important to have safeguards against conflicts of interest and tobacco industry partnerships and integrate these into existing policies.
What you will learn
- How conflict of interest situations can lead to interference in policymaking
- What preventive measures can be done to avoid conflicts of interest
- Why actively rejecting offers from the tobacco industry is good practice
Materials used in this chapter
Reports and references in the discussion
- Guidelines for the implementation of Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
- Open letter to the WHO Executive Board to reject partnerships with the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
- WHO Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors
- FCTC/COP7(25) Convention Secretariat’s fundraising efforts and collaborative work
- Thompson, D. F. (1993). Understanding Financial Conflicts of Interest. New England Journal of Medicine
- Pisinger, C., Godtfredsen, N., Bender, A. M. (2019). A conflict of interest is strongly associated with tobacco industry–favourable results, indicating no harm of e-cigarettes. Preventive Medicine
- Crosbie E, Bialous S, Glantz SA. (2019). Memoranda of understanding: a tobacco industry strategy to undermine illicit tobacco trade policies. Tobacco Control 28:e110–e118
- Newman, M., Britton, A., Glantz, S. A. (2002). Tobacco industry strategies for influencing European Community tobacco advertising legislation. The Lancet
- Landman, A., Ling, P. M., Glantz, S. A. (2002). Tobacco industry youth smoking prevention programs: protecting the industry and hurting tobacco control. American Journal of Public Health
- Sebrie, E. M., Barnoya, J., Perez-Stable, E. J., Glantz, S. A. (2005). Tobacco industry successfully prevented tobacco control legislation in Argentina. Tobacco Control