Tobacco industry lobbying undermines public health in Asia.

The implementation of tobacco control measures is a political choice. Although tobacco control will improve the wellbeing of the populations that governments serve, the industry spares no attempt to deter, dilute, or delay effective measures for tobacco control, be it taxation or prominent pictorial health warnings. There is troubling evidence that the tobacco industry is exerting undue influence in several Asian countries, in some cases with the complicity of governments, to thwart public health measures. The case against tobacco is clear. An addiction that usually starts in childhood, smoking is predicted to kill one billion people in the 21st century, with a global social burden costing an estimated $2.1tn (Rs134tn; £1.4tn; €1.9tn) a year.Themeans to prevent this are set out clearly in the World Health Organization’s 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the associated MPOWER policy framework (Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies, Protect people from tobacco smoke, Offer help to quit tobacco use,Warn about the dangers of tobacco, Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and Raise taxes on tobacco). The countries that have implemented these measures most assiduously have seen the greatest falls in smoking rates. The framework convention states that there is a “fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry’s interests and public health policy interests.” Article 5.3 of the convention binds parties to “interact with the tobacco industry only when and to the extent strictly necessary to enable them to effectively regulate the tobacco industry and tobacco products.” This rule is necessary because well documented industry tactics of lobbying, bullying, and threats of litigation have delayed and continue to delay measures to reduce uptake of smoking by children and promote quitting. Delays to controls