New TCRG review of advocates’ strategies for countering industry interference

A new review by TCRG researchers published in Globalization and Health brings together the existing literature on the countering of tobacco industry interference.

Based on 30 peer-reviewed studies covering five WHO regions, it suggests that tobacco control advocates engage in a wide range of activities when countering tobacco industry interference, which are summarised in the paper under five key categories.

Advocates employ their strategies flexibly, combining different activities and countering several industry tactics – previously captured by the Policy Dystopia Model.

However, the studies included in the review provided little evidence on the outcome, or impact of, efforts to counter tobacco industry interference.

From lead author Britta Matthes:

“It would be great to see more research into the effectiveness of tobacco control advocacy as it could facilitate learning from cases with – and without – success.”

Read the paper:

Advocacy counterstrategies to tobacco industry interference in policymaking: a scoping review of peer-reviewed literature, Britta K. Matthes, Praveen Kumar, Sarah Dance, Tom Hird, Angela Carriedo Lutzenkirchen, Anna B. Gilmore,  Global Health 19, 42 (2023), doi: 10.1186/s12992-023-00936-7