Philip Morris International’s partnerships with local authorities in Europe violate Article 5.3 of the FCTC

Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) explicitly recommends that parties should not form partnerships with or participate in activities of the tobacco industry. Although more than 180 signatories have ratified the FCTC, including the European Union (EU) and all its member states, compliance across the EU is incomplete. This lack of compliance is illustrated by the recent pattern of partnerships between Phillip Morris International (PMI) and local authorities in three European countries; Greece, Spain, and the Czech Republic.