Every year, tobacco consumption claims 8 million lives and costs the economy $1.4 trillion.
Link to the source article >> https://healthpolicy-watch.news/tobacco-industry-used-covid-19-to-influence-governments-especially-in-switzerland-index-finds/
The tobacco industry used the COVID-19 pandemic to ingratiate itself with governments around the world and win concessions for their harmful products, according to a review of 80 countries analyzed in the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2021, which was released on Tuesday.
It wasn’t simply economically vulnerable countries that were susceptible to industry influence. The Swiss government allowed one of the highest levels of influence, second only to the Dominican Republic.
The Index notes that the president of the Swiss Tobacco Trade Association, Gregor Rutz, is even a member of the Swiss National Council, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, thus “ensuring direct access to policymaking”.
Switzerland also doesn’t have an age limit of 18 years on the purchase of tobacco products, which have not had a tax increase since 2013. Swiss tobacco farmers also receive subsidies, and the country is home to a wide range of powerful tobacco companies.
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