The tobacco epidemic continues today, claiming the lives of about 8 million people worldwide every year. Increasingly, interference by the tobacco industry has been known to hinder progress in tobacco control. Given the growing concerns with respect to tobacco industry interference (TII) in South Asia, the Institute of Public Health Bengaluru in collaboration with the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) launched a South Asia Public Health Fellowship in December last year. Through an 8-month fellowship period, seven fellows selected from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka curated four
country-specific case studies on how a transnational tobacco corporation like British American Tobacco (BAT) and its country affiliates interferes in tobacco control efforts in the region. Based on the country cases curated by the fellows, the project team prepared and published a regional report titled, “Interference by Big Tobacco and Affiliates in Tobacco Control in South Asia”. The regional report is available for download here.
