The Transnational Tobacco Industry Effectively Hampers Tobacco Control Policy-Making In Lebanon | Ifi Research And Policy Memo #1

IFI Research and Policy Memo #1 | April 2010 The Transnational Tobacco Industry Effectively Hampers Tobacco Control Policy-Making in LebanonRima Nakkash Lebanon is still considered one of the weakest countries in the region with regards to regulating tobacco use, despite having ratified the World Health Organisation’s Framework convention on Tobacco Control in 2005. Lebanon has failed numerous attempts to introduce a national tobacco control policy, including banning smoking in closed public areas, banning advertising and sponsorship, and placing large pictorial health warnings on tobacco products. The largest barrier to tobacco control remains the interference of the tobacco industry in the policy-making process.