Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Global Tobacco Control Updates

• Really Philip Morris? You don’t market to kids?

  TOBACCO UNFILTERED BLOG | 14 May 2013
  At last week’s annual meeting of Philip Morris International shareholders in New York City, CEO Louis Camilleri answered a question from a youth tobacco control advocate by denying that the company markets to kids, saying "That’s just not true. It’s a fable." Sorry Mr. Camilleri, we can’t keep quiet on this one. Here are just a few recent examples illustrating how Philip Morris does target youth around the world with its deadly products.

• Bangladesh Enacts Landmark Tobacco Control Law

  TOBACCO UNFILTERED BLOG | 10 May 2013
  Overcoming more than four years of delays and strong tobacco industry opposition, the Parliament of Bangladesh has enacted a new law that significantly strengthens the country’s efforts to reduce tobacco use. The new law is a major step forward in a country where about 43 percent of adults use tobacco, with high rates of both cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use.

• Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi of Mumbai Honored for Leading Efforts to Reduce Tobacco Use in India, Giving a Voice to Tobacco Victims

  PRESS RELEASE | 2 May 2013
  Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi — a cancer surgeon based at Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital — will be honored today with the Judy Wilkenfeld Award for International Tobacco Control Excellence in recognition of his innovative leadership in the fight to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related disease in India. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids will present Dr. Chaturvedi with the award at its annual awards gala in Washington, DC.

• Euromonitor: Tobacco Industry’s Outlook Dims in Latin America as Countries Take Strong Action

  TOBACCO UNFILTERED BLOG | 18 April 2013
  Thanks to strong government action to reduce tobacco use, the tobacco industry's outlook in Latin America is dimming according to new analysis by Euromonitor International, a strategy research group for consumer products. The analysis cites the example of Chile, which recently became the 14th Latin American country to go smoke-free. In February, Chile implemented a comprehensive tobacco control law that makes restaurants, bars and other public places smoke-free; restricts tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and prohibits the use of additives, including menthol, in tobacco products.

• Bloomberg Initiative Marks Milestone in Global Fight Against Tobacco

  TOBACCO UNFILTERED BLOG | 15 April 2013
  Bloomberg Philanthropies announced today that the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco use has awarded 500 grants since 2007, totaling $100 million, to support efforts to reduce tobacco use in low- and middle-income countries. It marks a significant milestone in fighting the world’s number one cause of preventable death, especially in countries that have the highest rates of tobacco use and are the tobacco industry’s biggest targets.

• India’s Most Populous State Bans Deadly Gutka Chewing Tobacco

  TOBACCO UNFILTERED BLOG | 05 April 2013
  Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state with more than 200 million residents, has become the country's latest state to begin implementing the ban on the sale of gutka, a deadly form of chewing tobacco that is fueling an oral cancer epidemic. This action follows the Supreme Court’s denial of a tobacco industry petition to stay implementation of the ban.

• Warning: This Concert Is Hazardous to Your Health

  TOBACCO UNFILTERED BLOG | 22 March 2013
  When young fans attended the Java Jazz music festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, earlier this month, they had to walk through concert grounds plastered with advertising for Djarum Super Mild, the cigarette brand that sponsored the concert. When performers such as Joss Stone took the stage, they performed under a cigarette logo. And for weeks before the concert, Djarum promoted its deadly products using the images of music stars, in the process telling kids that smoking is fun and glamorous. These activities beg the question: Was Java Jazz promoting music or cigarettes?

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