Tobacco industry tactics to undermine tobacco control.

Key points > Tobacco industry interference in tobacco control has been identified as the greatest obstacle to the implementation of evidence-based measures to reduce tobacco use. > Tobacco companies employ a range of tactics to attempt to eliminate or limit the impact of tobacco control policies on their business including delaying, weakening, foreclosing, circumventing, avoiding, or overturning the proposed policy. > The key tactics used by the tobacco industry are information management, coalition management, influencing policy through lobbying, and litigation. > The government ‘Better Regulation’ requirement that stakeholders are consulted and involved in an impact assessment of proposed public health policies enables corporate influence over public health policy and can be exploited by the tobacco industry. > Rigorous adherence to Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control across the whole of government is more important than ever.