| Literature DB >> 25634938 |
Heide Weishaar1, Jeff Collin2, Amanda Amos3.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Coalitions of supporters of comprehensive tobacco control policy have been crucial in achieving policy success nationally and internationally, but the dynamics of such alliances are not well understood.Entities:
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Year: 2015 PMID: 25634938 PMCID: PMC4710205 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntv016
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Nicotine Tob Res ISSN: 1462-2203 Impact factor: 4.244
List of Interviewees
| Decision makers |
| Anna Jassem-Staniecka, Policy Officer, European Commission Directorate General for Health and Consumers, Unit 4, Belgium |
| Alick-James Morris, Policy Officer, European Commission Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion in the Unit responsible for health, safety and hygiene at work, Luxembourg |
| Terje Peetso, Policy Officer, European Commission Directorate General for Health and Consumers, Unit 4, Belgium |
| A representative of the European Economic and Social Committee, Belgium |
| A representative of an EU institution, Belgium |
Key Messages, Examples of their Communication and Policy Developments Indicating Success of Such Messages
| Key messages | Examples of message communication | Policy developments |
|---|---|---|
| Population health should be improved by protecting European Union (EU) citizens from the harms caused by second-hand smoke (SHS). | Submission by the European Network for Smoking Prevention: “The dangerous health effects of secondhand smoke have been documented in over 20 reports…A cautious estimate is that exposure to secondhand smoke kills at least 79 000 people in the EU each year…In addition, secondhand smoke causes a great deal of respiratory diseases and is a major risk factor that exacerbates attacks for people with asthma, allergic illnesses, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other chronic diseases leading to social and work exclusion and unnecessary illness.” 32 | The rationale underlying the Council Recommendation on smoke-free environments highlights that SHS is “is a wide spread source of mortality, morbidity and disability in the European Union” and that “people have the right to a high level of health protection and should be protected from exposure to tobacco smoke”. 17 |
| Interview with public health advocate: “We really want to promote health, and health issues.” | ||
| Interview with tobacco control advocate: “The common interests of saving citizens lives (unites organisations working on tobacco control in Europe). So they are committed to this, and this is what all of them have in common.” | ||
| Comprehensive smoke-free policies without exemptions are the only way to achieve effective protection from SHS. | Submission by ASH England: “Experience from the UK shows that anything less than a comprehensive approach would substantially weaken the smoke-free measure, thus offering less than optimal health protection.” 33 | The final policy document recommends member states to “provide effective protection from exposure to tobacco smoke in indoor workplaces, indoor public places, public transport and, as appropriate, other public places” 17 in line with Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) article 8. The guidelines to FCTC article 8 state that effective measures “require the total elimination of smoking and tobacco smoke in a particular space or environment in order to create a 100% smoke-free environment.” 35 |
| Submission by the German Cancer Research Centre: “Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention (protection from exposure to tobacco smoke) obligates Parties to take effective steps to provide protection from exposure to tobacco smoke. Effective measures require the total elimination of smoking and tobacco smoke in a particular space or environment in order to create a 100% smoke-free environment. There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke…Approaches other than 100% smoke-free environments, including ventilation, air filtration and the use of designated smoking areas…have repeatedly been shown to be ineffective.” 34 | ||
| Interview with tobacco control advocate: “So the framing of the problem, we were all in agreement about…We wanted 100% smoke-free with no exemptions. And we were…very, very clear on that.” | ||
| Given that tobacco companies are the main vector of the tobacco epidemic, tobacco industry representatives should have no opportunity to influence the process of developing smoke- free policies. | Submission by the European Public Health Alliance: “We would like to reiterate that the tobacco industry must be excluded from smoke free policy debates because of the unique role of its products in causing harm and because of its track record of deceptive behaviour.” 36 | In the consultation meeting with stakeholders initiated by the European Commission, public health and civil society representatives objected to being consulted in a joint meeting with tobacco industry representatives, arguing that tobacco manufacturers and their allies should not be treated as legitimate stakeholders. Accordingly, the meeting minutes indicate that two separate meetings took place, one with tobacco and ventilation industry representatives, and the other with health experts, civil society and social partners. |
| Interview with tobacco control advocate: “Tobacco companies can put in their views in a paper exercise but that’s as far as it should go. They should not be treated like normal stakeholders and that’s made very clear in the FCTC article 5.3.” | ||
| Interview with analyst: “The argumentation from the NGOs and researchers was that the tobacco industry in earlier discussions had, in their opinion, ruined the complete discussion by coming up with all sorts of nonsensical arguments.” |
Factors Identified as Contributing to the Alliance’s Impact on Policy
| Factors identified as contributing to the alliance’s impact on policy | Specification |
|---|---|
| 1. Composition of the alliance | Different types of organization |
| Issue-specific organizations and organizations with a broader remit | |
| Actors with resources to financially support the campaign | |
| Input from researchers and health professionals | |
| 2. Priorities and pursuit of unity | Shared vision about reducing harms from tobacco and second-hand smoke |
| Consensus on favored policy measures | |
| Agreement on key lobbying messages | |
| Shared identification of, and resistance to, opposition | |
| 3. Collaboration | Personal interaction, long-term collaboration and trust |
| Information exchange | |
| Pooling of resources | |
| 4. Leadership and coordination | Lead actor(s) with understanding of the policy issue and policy process and ability to provide strategic direction |
| Core group of actors committed to the issue and able to engage in advocacy and levy resources | |
| Ability to mobilize support | |
| Good working relationships between organizations supporting the issue across different levels of governance (local, national, European Union EU, global) |