State sued over alleged FCTC failures

The Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation (YSPF) is taking the Kingdom of the Netherlands to court to end what it alleges is the structural and excessive influence exerted by tobacco lobbyists on government anti-smoking policies, according to a story in the Tobacco Control Journal that was originally published by the YSPF.

The YSPF is calling on the Dutch government to comply fully with the anti-smoking convention of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

The foundation claims that one of the most important articles in the convention states that every form of influence by the tobacco industry on policies to deter smoking must be avoided.

‘In the court summons issued, the Foundation offers dozens of examples that show how the government has systematically violated this provision, and even invites the tobacco industry to clarify its position on matters of policy development,’ the story said.

The story is at: http://blogs.bmj.com/tc/2014/09/15/the-netherlands-dutch-government-sued-over-who-fctc-violations/.