Globalisation of tobacco industry influence and new global responses

The globalisation of tobacco marketing, trade, research, and industry influ ence represents a major threat to public health worldwide. Drawing upon tob acco industry strategy documents prepared over several decades, this paper will demonstrate how the tobacco industry operates as a global force, regar ding the world as its operating market by planning, developing, and marketi ng its products an a global scale. The industry has used a wide range of me thods to buy influence and power, and penetrate markets across the world. I t has an annual turnover of almost US$400 billion. In contrast, until recen tly tobacco control lacked global leadership and strategic direction and ha d been severely underfunded. As part of moving towards a more sustainable f orm of globalisation, a global enabling environment linked to local actions should focus on the following strategies: global information management; d evelopment of nationally and locally grounded action; global regulation, le gal instruments, and foreign policy; and establishment of strong partnershi ps with purpose. As the vector of the tobacco epidemic, the tobacco industr y's actions fall far outside of the boundaries of global corporate responsi bility. Therefore, global and local actions should not provide the tobacco industry with the two things that it needs to ensure its long term profitab ility: respectability and predictability.