Preventing government involvement in tobacco industry events Upendra Bhojani Institute of Public Health, Bangalore
Burden of tobacco use u Second
u Nearly
u Huge
largest consumer of tobacco
one million deaths a year
financial burden on households
Leader in tobacco control u FCTC
ratification
u Reasonably
good legislation for tobacco control
u National
Control
Program on Tobacco
Other side of the story u Indian
Tobacco Board
u Central
Tobacco Research Institute
u Tobacco
industry & political parties
Global Tobacco Networking Forum (GTNF)
GTNF u Field
trip to have “up close view of
tobacco industry” u Profile
of speakers
u Agenda u Code
of conduct
Advocacy campaign u Prohibit
government’s sponsorship and
participation u GTNF
comply with tobacco control law
(smoke-free, No advertising/promotion) u Prevent
future sponsorship to industry
Advocacy campaign u Media u Political u Legal
advocacy
advocacy
•
Right to Information Act
•
Public Interest Litigation
Right to Information
Collaborative advocacy (Advocacy Forum for Tobacco Control)
Public Interest Litigation u FCTC
(articles 5.3 & 13), National law
(section 5)
u Campaign
objectives + code of conduct
for government officers
Some lessons u FCTC
as an important advocacy tool
u Public
enquiries - tool to ‘generate’
evidence and monitor actions u Litigations
- innovative potential to bring
‘dramatic advances’ in tobacco control
Some lessons “That apart, while the (Tobacco) board can continue to promote the tobacco industry in other areas, but not related to human consumption of tobacco leading to affection of health of general public….” -Interim order by Karnataka High Court (17 September 2010)
Some lessons u Litigation
more effective when complemented with other advocacy (media, political) strategies
u Litigation
as ‘multidisciplinary enterprise’
u Effectiveness?
Thank you!
Contact:
[email protected] 91-9342349121
