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"Asia is now the priority target for the world anti-tobacco movement": attempts by the tobacco industry to undermine the Asian anti-smoking movement

School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Correspondence to:
Dr Jennifer Knight
School of Public Health, Room 129A, Edward Ford Building (A27), University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia; knightj{at}health.usyd.edu.au

Study objective: To identify and examine the strategies utilised by multinational tobacco companies to undermine and discredit key anti-tobacco activists and organisations in the Asian region.

Method: A series of case studies drawing upon material gathered through systematic reviews of internal tobacco industry documents.

Date sources: Tobacco industry documents made public as part of the settlement of the Minnesota Tobacco Trial and the Master Settlement Agreement.

Results: The industry sought to identify, monitor, and isolate key individuals and organisations. The way industry went about fulfilling this mandate in the Asian region is discussed. Industry targetted individuals and agencies along with the region’s primary anti-smoking coalition.

Conclusions: Attack by multinational tobacco companies is a virtual quid pro quo for any individual or agency seriously challenging industry practices and policies. Understanding their tactics allows anticipatory strategies to be developed to minimise the effectiveness of these attacks.

Abbreviations: APACT, Asia Pacific Association of Control Tobacco; ATC, Asian Tobacco Council; BAT, British American Tobacco; COSH, Council on Smoking and Health; ETS, environmental tobacco smoke; HK, Hong Kong; ICOSI, International Council on Smoking Issues; PM, Philip Morris; TIHK, Tobacco Institute of Hong Kong; TIOJ, Tobacco Institute of Japan

Keywords: anti-smoking movement; Asia