Industry watchdog: Tobacco companies still influence governments worldwide

A new report from a tobacco industry watchdog ranked 33 countries by how much they were influenced by tobacco companies, and found slow and less than satisfactory progress. The WHO has a framework to protect against such influence — including transparency and removing commercial incentives — and Japan was the least compliant, while Iran and Uganda ranked among the highest, according to the report. Still, while political gifts from tobacco companies are banned in the U.K. and a few other countries, only the U.S. and Kenya have policies that require transparency when it comes to political contributions. Companies also benefited from duty-free sales of cigarettes: Sri Lanka was the only country to ban such tax breaks. E-cigarettes also emerged as a threat, as lobbyists worked to make it easier to promote or sell the products in many countries, including the U.S.