Conceptualising commercial entities in public health: beyond unhealthy commodities and transnational corporations.

Most public health research on the commercial determinants of health (CDOH) to date has focused on a narrow segment of commercial actors. These actors are generally the transnational corporations producing so-called unhealthy commodities such as tobacco, alcohol, and ultra-processed foods. Furthermore, as public health researchers, we often discuss the CDOH using sweeping terms such as private sector, industry, or business that lump together diverse entities whose only shared characteristic is their engagement in commerce. The absence of clear frameworks for differentiating among commercial entities, and for understanding how they might promote or harm health, hinders the governance of commercial interests in public health. Moving forward, it is necessary to develop a nuanced understanding of commercial entities that goes beyond this narrow focus, enabling the consideration of a fuller range of commercial entities and the features that characterise and distinguish them. In this paper, which is the second of three papers in a Series on commercial determinants of health, we develop a framework that enables meaningful distinctions among diverse commercial entities through consideration of their practices, portfolios, resources, organisation, and transparency. The framework that we develop permits fuller consideration of whether, how, and to what extent a commercial actor might influence health outcomes. We discuss possible applications for decision making about engagement; managing and mitigating conflicts of interest; investment and divestment; monitoring; and further research on the CDOH. Improved differentiation among commercial actors strengthens the capacity of practitioners, advocates, academics, regulators, and policy makers to make decisions about, to better understand, and to respond to the CDOH through research, engagement, disengagement, regulation, and strategic opposition.

Twitter Misinformation Discourses About Vaping: Systematic Content Analysis.

BACKGROUND: While there has been substantial analysis of social media content deemed to spread misinformation about electronic nicotine delivery systems use, the strategic use of misinformation accusations to undermine opposing views has received limited attention. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to fill this gap by analyzing how social media users discuss the topic of misinformation related to electronic nicotine delivery systems, notably vaping products. Additionally, this study identifies and analyzes the actors commonly blamed for spreading such misinformation and how these claims support both the provaping and antivaping narratives. METHODS: Using Twitter's (subsequently rebranded as X) academic application programming interface, we collected tweets referencing #vape and #vaping and keywords associated with fake news and misinformation. This study uses systematic content analysis to analyze the tweets and identify common themes and actors who discuss or possibly spread misinformation. RESULTS: This study found that provape users dominate the platform regarding discussions about misinformation about vaping, with provaping tweets being more frequent and having higher overall user engagement. The most common narrative for provape tweets surrounds the conversation of vaping being perceived as safe. On the other hand, the most common topic from the antivape narrative is that vaping is indeed harmful. This study also points to a general distrust in authority figures, with news outlets, public health authorities, and political actors regularly accused of spreading misinformation, with both placing blame. However, specific actors differ depending on their positionalities. The vast number of accusations from provaping advocates is found to shape what is considered misinformation and works to silence other narratives. Additionally, allegations against reliable and proven sources, such as public health authorities, work to discredit assessments about the health impacts, which is detrimental to public health overall for both provaping and antivaping advocates. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the spread of misinformation and the accusations of misinformation dissemination using terms such as "fact check," "misinformation," "fake news," and "disinformation" have become weaponized and co-opted by provaping actors to delegitimize criticisms about vaping and to increase confusion about the potential health risks. The study discusses the mixed types of impact of vaping on public health for both smokers and nonsmokers. Additionally, we discuss the implications for effective health education and communication about vaping and how misinformation claims can affect evidence-based discourse on Twitter as well as informed vaping decisions.

The Unintended Consequences of Information Provision: The World Health Organization and Border Restrictions during COVID-19.

Why do some international agreements fail to achieve their goals? Rather than states' engaging in cheap talk, evasion, or shallow commitments, the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Health Regulations (IHR)-the agreement governing states' and WHO's response to global health emergencies-point to the unintended consequences of information provision. The IHR have a dual goal of providing public health protection from health threats while minimizing unnecessary interference in international traffic. As such, during major outbreaks WHO provides information about spread and severity, as well as guidance about how states should respond, primarily regarding border policies. During COVID-19, border restrictions such as entry restrictions, flight suspensions, and border closures have been commonplace even though WHO recommended against such policies when it declared the outbreak a public health emergency in January 2020. Building on findings from the 2014 Ebola outbreak, we argue that without raising the cost of disregarding (or the benefits of following) recommendations against border restrictions, information from WHO about outbreak spread and severity leads states to impose border restrictions inconsistent with WHO's guidance. Using new data from COVID-19, we show that WHO's public health emergency declaration and pandemic announcement are associated with increases in the number of states imposing border restrictions.

Resumen: ¿Por qué motivo algunos acuerdos internacionales no logran alcanzar sus objetivos? El Reglamento Sanitario Internacional (RSI) de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS)­el acuerdo que rige la respuesta de los Estados y la OMS a las emergencias sanitarias mundiales­señala como motivo las consecuencias imprevistas del suministro de información, en lugar del discurso trivial, la evasión o los compromisos superficiales por parte de los Estados. El RSI tiene como doble objetivo proteger la salud pública de las amenazas sanitarias y minimizar las interferencias innecesarias en el tráfico internacional. Como tal, durante brotes importantes, la OMS proporciona información sobre la propagación y la gravedad, así como orientación sobre cómo deben responder los Estados, principalmente en lo que respecta a las políticas fronterizas. Sin embargo, durante la COVID-19, las restricciones fronterizas, tales como las restricciones de entrada, las suspensiones de vuelos y los cierres de fronteras, han sido habituales, a pesar de que la OMS recomendó no aplicar estas políticas cuando declaró el brote epidémico como emergencia de salud pública en enero de 2020. Basándonos en los resultados del brote de ébola de 2014, argumentamos que, sin aumentar el coste de ignorar (o los beneficios de seguir) las recomendaciones contra las restricciones fronterizas, la información de la OMS sobre la propagación y la gravedad del brote lleva a los Estados a imponer restricciones fronterizas que no son coherentes con las orientaciones de la OMS. Utilizando nuevos datos de la COVID-19, mostramos que la declaración de emergencia de salud pública de la OMS y el anuncio de pandemia están asociados con el aumento del número de estados que imponen restricciones fronterizas.

Résumé: Pourquoi certains accords internationaux n'atteignent-ils pas leurs objectifs? À l'inverse d'États se perdant dans des discussions superficielles, des pirouettes ou des engagements insignifiants, le Règlement sanitaire international (RSI) de l'Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS), à savoir l'accord encadrant la réponse des États et de l'OMS aux situations d'urgence sanitaire internationales, évoque les conséquences imprévues de la transmission d'informations. Le RSI a un objectif double : protéger les populations contre les menaces pour la santé publique, tout en minimisant les interactions non nécessaires dans le trafic international. Par conséquent, lors des grandes épidémies, l'OMS fournit des informations relatives à la transmission et à la gravité des maladies, ainsi que des conseils quant aux mesures que les États doivent mettre en œuvre, principalement en ce qui concerne les politiques aux frontières. Pourtant, durant la pandémie de COVID-19, les restrictions aux frontières, telles que les limitations des entrées, les suspensions de vols et les fermetures, ont été monnaie courante, et ce bien que l'OMS ait déconseillé de telles pratiques lorsqu'elle a déclaré que l'épidémie constituait une urgence sanitaire, en janvier 2020. S'appuyant sur des travaux portant sur l'épidémie d'Ebola en 2014, nous soutenons, sans exagérer l'impact d'une non-conformité (ou les avantages d'une conformité) aux recommandations de l'OMS en matière de restrictions aux frontières, que les informations transmises par l'organisation en matière de transmission et de gravité de la maladie ont conduit les États à imposer des restrictions aux frontières non conformes auxdites recommandations. Grâce à de nouvelles données relatives au COVID-19, nous montrons que la déclaration d'urgence sanitaire et l'annonce de la pandémie par l'OMS se sont accompagnées d'une augmentation du nombre d'États imposant des restrictions aux frontières.

Public Health Roles in Addressing Commercial Determinants of Health.

The shared challenges posed by the production and distribution of health-harming products have led to growing recognition of the need for policy learning and transfer across problems, populations, and social contexts. The commercial determinants of health (CDoH) can serve as a unifying concept to describe the population health consequences arising from for-profit actors and activities, along with the social structures that sustain them. Strategies to mitigate harms from CDoH have focused on behavioral change, regulation, fiscal policies, consumer and citizen activism, and litigation. While there is evidence of effective measures for each strategy, approaches that combine strategies are generally more impactful. Filling gaps in evidence can inform ways of adapting these strategies to specific populations and social contexts. Overall, CDoH are addressed most effectively not through siloed efforts to reduce consumption of health-harming products, but instead as a set of integrated strategies to reduce exposures to health-harming commercial actors and activities.

How Broad Should Gram-Negative Coverage Be for Febrile Parenteral Nutrition Dependent Short Bowel Syndrome Patients?

ABSTRACT: Broader spectrum Gram-negative antibiotics are commonly utilized empirically for central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in febrile short bowel syndrome (SBS) patients receiving home parenteral nutrition compared to those used empirically for inpatient-acquired CLABSI. This analysis reports 57 CLABSI in 22 patients with SBS admitted from the community and 78 inpatient-acquired CLABSI in 76 patients over a 5-year period. Proportional Gram-negative CLABSI was similar between the SBS and inpatient-acquired cohorts (43.8% vs42.3%, respectively, P  = 0.78). 1.8% and 10.3% (P = 0.125) of Gram-negative CLABSI were non-susceptible to ceftriaxone and 0% and 3.8% (P = 0.52) were non-susceptible to ceftazidime in the SBS and inpatient-acquired cohorts, respectively. In the SBS cohort, home ethanol lock therapy and prior culture results impacted Gramnegative pathogen distribution. Broader empiric Gram-negative coverage for CLABSI among SBS patients compared to inpatients is unnecessary. Third-generation cephalosporins represent appropriate empiric Gramnegative agents for febrile SBS patients presenting from the community to our institution.

Defining Priorities for Action and Research on the Commercial Determinants of Health: A Conceptual Review.

In recent years, the concept of commercial determinants of health (CDoH) has attracted scholarly, public policy, and activist interest. To date, however, this new attention has failed to yield a clear and consistent definition, well-defined metrics for quantifying its impact, or coherent directions for research and intervention. By tracing the origins of this concept over 2 centuries of interactions between market forces and public health action and research, we propose an expanded framework and definition of CDoH. This conceptualization enables public health professionals and researchers to more fully realize the potential of the CDoH concept to yield insights that can be used to improve global and national health and reduce the stark health inequities within and between nations. It also widens the utility of CDoH from its main current use to study noncommunicable diseases to other health conditions such as infectious diseases, mental health conditions, injuries, and exposure to environmental threats. We suggest specific actions that public health professionals can take to transform the burgeoning interest in CDoH into meaningful improvements in health. (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(12):2202-2211. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306491).

How does the British Soft Drink Association respond to media research reporting on the health consequences of sugary drinks?

BACKGROUND: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are the leading global source of added sugar intake and their consumption is associated with negative health outcomes, such as diabetes, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and overall mortality. Despite consensus within the public health community about the need to reduce sugar intake, the non-alcoholic beverage industry engages in efforts to publicly undermine the evidence base surrounding the harmful effects of SSBs. There has been limited investigation of how SSB industry actors engage in public debates to challenge public health research and policy on SSBs. To address this gap, we thematically analyze the public comments and press releases of the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) since May 2014. RESULTS: A total of 175 news articles and 7 press releases were identified where the BSDA commented upon new SSB research in public settings. In these comments, four strategies were observed to undermine new research. First, the BSDA challenged study rigour and research design (n = 150). They challenged the policy implications of research by stating observational studies do not demonstrate causation, refuted data sources, questioned researcher motivations, and claimed research design did not account for confounding factors. Second, the BSDA positioned themselves as an altruistic public health partner (n = 52) intent on improving population-level nutrition citing their voluntary industry commitments. Third, the BSDA promoted concepts of safety that align with industry interests (n = 47). Lastly, the BSDA argued that the lifestyle of individual consumers should be the focus of public health interventions rather than the industry (n = 61). CONCLUSION: The findings illustrate the BSDA reliance on arguments of causation to discredit research and avoid policy interventions. Given the attention by the BSDA regarding the purported lack of evidence of causation between SSBs and non-communicable diseases, it is imperative that members of the public health community try to educate policy makers about (a) the complex nature of causation; (b) that evidence in favour of public health interventions cannot, and do not, solely rely on causation studies; and (c) that public health must sometimes abide by the precautionary principle in instituting interventions.

The political economy of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation in Latin America: lessons from Mexico, Chile and Colombia.

BACKGROUND: In Latin America, total sales of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) continue to rise at an alarming rate. Consumption of added sugar is a leading cause of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Coalitions of stakeholders have formed in several countries in the region to address this public health challenge including participation of civil society organizations and transnational corporations. Little is currently known about these coalitions - what interests they represent, what goals they pursue and how they operate. Ensuring the primacy of public health goals is a particular governance challenge. This paper comparatively analyses governance challenges involved in the adoption of taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages in Mexico, Chile and Colombia. The three countries have similar political and economic systems, institutional arrangements and regulatory instruments but differing policy outcomes. METHODS: We analysed the political economy of SSB taxation based on a qualitative synthesis of existing empirical evidence. We identify the key stakeholders involved in the policy process, identified their interests, and assess how they influenced adoption and implementation of the tax. RESULTS: Coalitions for and against the SSB taxation formed the basis of policy debates in all three countries. Intergovernmental support was critical to framing the SSB tax aims, benefits and implementation; and for countries to adopt it. A major constraint to implementation was the strong influence of transnational corporations (TNCs) in the policy process. A lack of transparency during agenda setting was notably enhanced by the powerful presence of TNCs. CONCLUSION: NCDs prevention policies need to be supported across government, alongside grassroots organizations, policy champions and civil society groups to enhance their success. However, governance arrangements involving coalitions between public and private sector actors need to recognize power asymmetries among different actors and mitigate their potentially negative consequences. Such arrangements should include clear mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability of all partners, and prevent undue influence by industry interests associated with unhealthy products.

Managing borders during public health emergencies of international concern: a proposed typology of cross-border health measures.

BACKGROUND: The near universal adoption of cross-border health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has prompted significant debate about their effectiveness and compliance with international law. The number of measures used, and the range of measures applied, have far exceeded previous public health emergencies of international concern. However, efforts to advance research, policy and practice to support their effective use has been hindered by a lack of clear and consistent definition. RESULTS: Based on a review of existing datasets for cross-border health measures, such as the Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker and World Health Organization Public Health and Social Measures, along with analysis of secondary and grey literature, we propose six categories to define measures more clearly and consistently - policy goal, type of movement (travel and trade), adopted by public or private sector, level of jurisdiction applied, stage of journey, and degree of restrictiveness. These categories are then brought together into a proposed typology that can support research with generalizable findings and comparative analyses across jurisdictions. Addressing the current gaps in evidence about travel measures, including how different jurisdictions apply such measures with varying effects, in turn, enhances the potential for evidence-informed decision-making based on fuller understanding of policy trade-offs and externalities. Finally, through the adoption of standardized terminology and creation of an agreed evidentiary base recognized across jurisdictions, the typology can support efforts to strengthen coordinated global responses to outbreaks and inform future efforts to revise the WHO International Health Regulations (2005). CONCLUSIONS: The widespread use of cross-border health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted significant reflection on available evidence, previous practice and existing legal frameworks. The typology put forth in this paper aims to provide a starting point for strengthening research, policy and practice.

Analysis of Community-Acquired Urinary Tract Infection Treatment in Pediatric Patients Requiring Hospitalization: Opportunity for Use of Narrower Spectrum Antibiotics.

Background: The most narrow-spectrum antibiotic possible should be used for empiric and definitive treatment of pediatric urinary tract infections (UTIs). Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine an appropriate narrow-spectrum antibiotic for empiric UTI treatment, factors differentiating empiric first-generation cephalosporin (FGC) versus third-generation cephalosporin (TGC) coverage, and factors associated with unnecessarily broad-spectrum definitive antibiotic treatment. Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of children admitted from 2013 to 2015 who were diagnosed with a UTI and received treatment. Multivariable logistic regression assessed independent factors associated with our outcomes. Results: Of 568 diagnosed UTIs, 88.6% received empiric TGC treatment. Empiric coverage among cultured organisms was only 5.4% lower in FGC versus TGC. Adolescent age group (odds ratio [OR] = 8.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.47-53.11), uncircumcised males (OR = 4.52, 95% CI = 1.27-16.08), Hispanic ethnicity (OR = 4.37, 95% CI = 1.14-16.82), and hospitalization within the preceding 3 months (OR = 4.73, 95% CI = 1.38-16.23) were associated with FGC nonsusceptibility among TGC susceptible Enterobacteriaceae pathogens. De-escalation occurred in 55.8% of diagnosed UTIs eligible for de-escalation at discharge. Urine white blood cell (WBC) count >5 (OR = 2.89, 95% CI = 1.14-7.21), serum WBC count (OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01-1.07), and having only one narrow-spectrum treatment option (OR = 5.1, 95% CI = 2.43-10.66) were associated with unnecessarily broad-spectrum definitive treatment. Conclusion and Relevance: FGC would be an appropriate narrow-spectrum empiric agent for UTIs at our institution. The factors associated with FGC nonsusceptibility can further stratify empiric treatment decisions. The factors associated with unnecessarily broad-spectrum definitive treatment illustrate areas for educational efforts and future research regarding UTI treatment.

Canada's global health role: supporting equity and global citizenship as a middle power.

Canada's history of nation building, combined with its status as a so-called middle power in international affairs, has been translated into an approach to global health that is focused on equity and global citizenship. Canada has often aspired to be a socially progressive force abroad, using alliance building and collective action to exert influence beyond that expected from a country with moderate financial and military resources. Conversely, when Canada has primarily used economic self-interest to define its global role, the country's perceived leadership in global health has diminished. Current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal federal government has signalled a return to progressive values, driven by appreciation for diversity, equality, and Canada's responsibility to be a good global citizen. However, poor coordination of efforts, limited funding, and the unaddressed legacy of Canada's colonisation of Indigenous peoples weaken the potential for Canadians to make meaningful contributions to improvement of global health equity. Amid increased nationalism and uncertainty towards multilateral commitments by some major powers in the world, the Canadian federal government has a clear opportunity to convert its commitments to equity and global citizenship into stronger leadership on the global stage. Such leadership will require the translation of aspirational messages about health equity and inclusion into concrete action at home and internationally.

Transnational Tobacco Companies and New Nicotine Delivery Systems.

While the public health community has focused on the harm-reduction potential of new nicotine delivery systems (NNDSs) and, conversely, their potential for impeding overall efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use, limited analysis has been conducted on the role of leading transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) in this rapidly growing market. Following aborted efforts during the 1980s and 1990s to develop reduced-risk products, TTCs have heavily invested in selected NNDS products since 2010 via acquisitions and internal research and development. This article catalogs and analyzes the patterns of investment in NNDSs by leading TTCs over time, and identifies differences in the companies' approaches to NNDS product acquisition and development in specific markets globally. This analysis raises important questions regarding the companies' intent, which appears to be to sustain, rather than replace, cigarette sales, and to increase their influence and credibility with respect to NNDS policy and regulation. We identify the need for greater public health vigilance and research to understand and respond to the increasingly significant role of NNDSs in TTCs' global business strategies, to ensure that NNDSs advance, rather than hinder, tobacco control efforts.

'Both Sides of the Argument'? A critical review of existing evidence on the illicit trade in tobacco products in Canada.

INTRODUCTION: The illicit trade in tobacco products (ITTP) is widely recognised as a substantial and complex problem in Canada. However, the independence of available data and quality of analyses remains unknown. Reliable and accurate data on the scale and causes of the problem are needed to inform effective policy responses. METHODS: We searched the scholarly and grey literature using keywords related to ITTP in Canada. We identified 26 studies published in English since 2008 that present original research drawing on primary data. We analysed these studies for their independence from the tobacco industry, methodology, findings and gaps in knowledge. RESULTS: The study finds 42% of the literature reviewed has links to the tobacco industry. These studies provide insufficient methodological detail, present higher estimates of the volume of ITTP and attribute the causes to higher rates of tobacco taxation. The classification of all indigenous tobacco sales as illicit, by both industry linked and independent studies, contributes to overestimates and serves the interests of transnational tobacco companies. There is need for independent and comprehensive data on the ITTP in Canada over time, across population groups and geographies. CONCLUSION: While there is evidence that the ITTP in Canada is a major and complex issue that requires effective tobacco control policies, there is a limited evidence base on which to develop such responses. This review finds industry-linked studies lack independence, employ biased methodologies and serve tobacco industry interests. Independent studies present more rigorous approaches, but primarily focus on youth and the province of Ontario.

Commercial tobacco and indigenous peoples: a stock take on Framework Convention on Tobacco Control progress.

BACKGROUND: The health status and needs of indigenous populations of Australia, Canada and New Zealand are often compared because of the shared experience of colonisation. One enduring impact has been a disproportionately high rate of commercial tobacco use compared with non-indigenous populations. All three countries have ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which acknowledges the harm caused to indigenous peoples by tobacco. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: We evaluated and compared reporting on FCTC progress related to indigenous peoples by Australia, Canada and New Zealand as States Parties. The critiqued data included disparities in smoking prevalence between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples; extent of indigenous participation in tobacco control development, implementation and evaluation; and what indigenous commercial tobacco reduction interventions were delivered and evaluated. DATA SOURCES: We searched FCTC: (1) Global Progress Reports for information regarding indigenous peoples in Australia, Canada and New Zealand; and (2) country-specific reports from Australia, Canada and New Zealand between 2007 and 2016. STUDY SELECTION: Two of the authors independently reviewed the FCTC Global and respective Country Reports, identifying where indigenous search terms appeared. DATA EXTRACTION: All data associated with the identified search terms were extracted, and content analysis was applied. RESULTS: It is difficult to determine if or what progress has been made to reduce commercial tobacco use by the three States Parties as part of their commitments under FCTC reporting systems. There is some evidence that progress is being made towards reducing indigenous commercial tobacco use, including the implementation of indigenous-focused initiatives. However, there are significant gaps and inconsistencies in reporting. Strengthening FCTC reporting instruments to include standardised indigenous-specific data will help to realise the FCTC Guiding Principles by holding States Parties to account and building momentum for reducing the high prevalence of commercial tobacco use among indigenous peoples.

From transit hub to major supplier of illicit cigarettes to Argentina and Brazil: the changing role of domestic production and transnational tobacco companies in Paraguay between 1960 and 2003.

BACKGROUND: Paraguay has reportedly been a major transit hub for illicit tobacco products since the 1960s, initially to supply markets in Argentina and Brazil and, more recently, other regional markets and beyond. However, to date there has been no systematic analysis, notably independent of the tobacco industry, of this trade including the roles of domestic production and transnational tobacco companies (TTCs). This article fills that gap by detailing the history of Paraguay's illicit cigarette trade to Brazil and Argentina of TTC products and Paraguayan production between 1960 and 2003. The effective control of illicit cigarette flows, under Article 15 of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the Protocol to Eliminate the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, requires fuller understanding of the changing nature of the illicit trade. METHODS: We systematically searched internal industry documents to understand the activities and strategies of leading TTCs in Paraguay and subregion over time. We also mapped illicit trade volume and patterns using US government and UN data on the cigarette trade involving Paraguay. We then estimated Paraguay's cigarette production from 1989 to 2003 using tobacco leaf flows from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade). RESULTS: We identify four phases in the illicit tobacco trade involving Paraguay: 1) Paraguay as a transit hub to smuggle BAT and PMI cigarettes from the U.S. into Argentina and Brazil (from the 1960s to the mid-1970s); 2) BAT and PMI competing in north-east Argentina (1989-1994); 3) BAT and PMI competing in southern and southern-east Brazil (mid to late 1990s); and 4) the growth in the illicit trade of Paraguayan manufactured cigarettes (from the mid- 1990s onwards). These phases suggest the illicit trade was seeded by TTCs, and that the system of supply and demand on lower priced brands they developed in the 1990s created a business opportunity for manufacturing in Paraguay. Brazil's efforts to fight this trade, with a 150% tax on exports to Latin American countries in 1999, further prompted supply of the illicit trade to shift from TTCs to Paraguayan manufacturers. CONCLUSION: This paper extends evidence of the longstanding complicity of TTCs in the illicit trade to this region and the consequent growth of Paraguayan production in the 1990s. Our findings confirm the need to better understand the factors influencing how the illicit tobacco trade has changed over time, in specific regional contexts, and amid tobacco industry globalization. In Paraguay, the changing roles of TTC and domestic production have been central to shifting patterns of illicit supply and distribution since the 1960s. Important questions are raised, in turn, about TTCs efforts to participate as legitimate partners in global efforts to combat the problem, including a leading role in data gathering and analysis.

"We think globally": the rise of Paraguay's Tabacalera del Este as a threat to global tobacco control.

BACKGROUND: Leading transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) began to expand their operations in Latin America in the 1960s. This included legally exporting their cigarettes to Paraguay during the 1960s which, in turn, were illegally re-exported to Argentina and Brazil. By the 1990s, competition between BAT and PMI for this lucrative illicit market, focusing on low-priced brands, prompted manufacturing in Paraguay. Paraguayan manufacturing rapidly grew after the introduction of a new cigarette export tax in Brazil in 1999. METHODS: We systematically searched Truth Tobacco Industry Documents (TTID) to understand the activities and strategies of leading TTCs in Paraguay and subregion over time. We applied the analytical framework of Lee and Eckhardt (2017) to understand Tabesa's global business strategy. We searched the websites of TTCs and Tabesa for activities since the mid 2000s to understand how the companies publicly describe these strategies. We used the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade) as an independent source to crosscheck statements by Tabesa executives about export markets. We contextualized and triangulated our findings with 42 key informant interviews. RESULTS: Tabesa became the largest cigarette manufacturer in Paraguay, and one of the largest companies in the country, through complicity in the illicit trade. Enabled by market conditions created by leading TTCs, and a permissive regulatory environment in Paraguay, evidence suggests Tabesa had become a major source of illicit cigarettes across Latin America and beyond by the late 2000s. Although Brazil continues to account for the bulk of Tabesa's revenues, findings suggest that the company is aspiring to compete with TTCs in markets worldwide through legal and illegal sales. CONCLUSION: There is a need for fuller understanding of the risks to global tobacco control from local companies aspiring to compete with TTCs. The rise of Tabesa is part of the changing nature of the illicit trade in tobacco products which must be taken into account in implementing the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and its Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. Potential conflicts of interest concerning Tabesa illustrate the importance of FCTC Article 5.3 on industry interference. There is also an urgent need to address the lack of independent and rigorous data on the illicit tobacco trade in the region.

From Colonization to Globalization: A history of state capture by the tobacco industry in Malawi.

Malawi, the world's most tobacco dependent country, has long defended the tobacco industry as essential to its economy. The impoverished living conditions of tobacco farmers, however, raise questions about the true benefits accruing to the country. While the government and industry often blame public health advocates for declining leaf prices, and thus lower returns to farmers, this article scrutinises these claims from a historical perspective. It argues that a context of state capture has characterised Malawi's tobacco industry, originating with colonisation and evolving since to become increasingly entrenched. The analysis is divided into four periods: colonial (1890s-1964); national (1964-1981); liberalisation (1981-2004) and accelerated globalisation (2004 to present). Each period demonstrates how industry interests influenced government institutions and policies in ways that increased dependence on a crop that only benefits a minority of Malawians. Today, a transnational elite prospers at the expense of local growers.

The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Monitoring the Global AIDS Response.

Civil society organizations (CSOs) are recognized as playing an exceptional role in the global AIDS response. However, there is little detailed research to date on how they contribute to specific governance functions. This article uses Haas' framework on global governance functions to map CSO's participation in the monitoring of global commitments to the AIDS response by institutions and states. Drawing on key informant interviews and primary documents, it focuses specifically on CSO participation in Global AIDS Response Progress Reporting and in Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria processes. It argues that the AIDS response is unique within global health governance, in that CSOs fulfill both formal and informal monitoring functions, and considers the strengths and weaknesses of these contributions. It concludes that future global health governance arrangements should include provisions and resources for monitoring by CSOs because their participation creates more inclusive global health governance and contributes to strengthening commitments to human rights.