The revision of the 2014 European tobacco products directive: an analysis of the tobacco industry's attempts to 'break the health silo'.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Peeters, Silvy Costa, Hélia Stuckler, David McKee, Martin Gilmore, Anna B
Copyright Year	2015
Abstract	BackgroundThe 2014 European Union (EU) Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) was negotiated in a changed policy context, following adoption of the EU's ‘Smart Regulation’ agenda, which transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) anticipated would increase their influence on health policy, and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which sought to reduce it. This study aims to explore the scale and nature of the TTCs' lobby against the EU TPD and evaluate how these developments have affected their ability to exert influence.MethodsAnalysis of 581 documents obtained through freedom of information requests, 28 leaked Philip Morris International (PMI) documents, 17 TTC documents from the Legacy Library, web content via Google alerts and searches of the EU institutions' websites, plus four stakeholder interviews.ResultsThe lobby was massive. PMI alone employed over 160 lobbyists. Strategies mainly used third parties. Efforts to 'Push' (amend) or 'Delay' the proposal and block 'extreme policy options' were partially successful, with plain packaging and point of sales display ban removed during the 3-year delay in the Commission. The Smart Regulation mechanism contributed to changes and delays, facilitating meetings between TTC representatives (including ex-Commission employees) and senior Commission staff. Contrary to Article 5.3, these meetings were not disclosed.ConclusionsDuring the legislative process, Article 5.3 was not consistently applied by non-health Directorates of the European Commission, while the tools of the Smart Regulation appear to have facilitated TTC access to, and influence on, the 2014 TPD. The use of third parties undermines Article 5.3.
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC4669229&blobtype=pdf
ISSN	09644563
Journal	Tobacco Control [Tob Control]
Volume Number	25
DOI	10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-051919
PubMed Central reference number	PMC4669229
Issue Number	1
PubMed reference number	25713313
e-ISSN	14683318
Language	English
Publisher	BMJ Publishing Group
Publisher Date	2015-02-24
Publisher Place	BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JR
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/
Subject Keyword	Public policy Tobacco industry Tobacco industry documents
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Health (social science) Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health