Examples of government action to curb interference

During the process of revising Directive 2001/37/EC on tobacco products, the EC Directorate-General for Health and Consumers has ensured transparency by publishing the minutes of all its meeting with interested stakeholders, including the tobacco industry, since 2010.

In Hungary, Israel and Sweden, legislation requires tobacco companies to publish their expenses related to product advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Israel and Sweden require the tobacco industry to produce reports and send them to official bodies. In Hungary, tobacco companies are required to publish such information on their web sites and in at least two daily newspapers.

In 2010, the finance ministry of Norway decided to exclude 17 companies that produce tobacco from the Government pension fund.

Members of the national tobacco control council in Serbia must sign a declaration in which they pledge that there is no conflict of interest between their official functions and any past or present dealings with the tobacco industry.

In 2011, the regulatory authority for the tobacco and alcohol market in Turkey issued a circular on principles for protecting public health policies from “commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry”.

In 2009, the Department of Health of the United Kingdom sent letters to all Government ministers, including the Prime Minister, drawing attention to the WHO FCTC and what was needed fully to implement it and its guidelines.

The 2011 national tobacco strategy of England requires all Government officials to publish the details of any policy-related meetings with the tobacco industry.