Month: September 2022

INTIMIDATION TACTICS. "Uruguay ... planned to back down until Mayor Michael Bloomberg offered to pay their legal defense fees. Among other things, this case is aimed at discouraging other countries from moving forward with similar regulations." https://lnkd.in/d5WRu9r View in LinkedIn

TOBACCO SUITS VS GOVERNMENTS. "It’s a chilling prospect – the tobacco industry getting a green light to use its vast wealth to sue our Government for introducing health measures that reduce its profits." https://lnkd.in/dsTub_g View in LinkedIn

TREATY SHOPPING. "Under the TPP, if a three-member ISDS tribunal that oversees disputes decides in favor of a company, the tribunal can order taxpayer compensation. The decision cannot be overturned by national governments." https://lnkd.in/d5WRu9r View in LinkedIn

TREATY SHOPPING. "ISDS includes some 3,000 bilateral trade treaties and has existed since the 1950s. Companies like Phillip Morris do what is called “treaty shopping,” searching for a bilateral-investment treaty by which they can sue a country." https://lnkd.in/d5WRu9r View in LinkedIn

SECRET TRIBUNALS. "These challenges to regulations deemed to impact on industry profits would not be heard in the normal public courts but in secret tribunals known as investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS). Rulings would be made by trade lawyers rather than judges." https://lnkd.in/dsTub_g View in LinkedIn

SECRET TRIBUNALS. "From ASH Scotland’s perspective, initiatives to reduce smoking could be a prime target of future legal challenges." https://lnkd.in/dsTub_g View in LinkedIn

CURRENT SECRET TRUBUNALS. "Tobacco companies are already using ISDS arrangements ... to bully governments. Philip Morris is using ISDS to sue Uruguay for increasing the size of the health warnings on cigarette packs, and to bring a case against Australia over its introduction of plain, standardised tobacco packaging two years ago." https://lnkd.in/dsTub_g View in LinkedIn

NHS FAIR GAME FOR TRUBUNALS. "The TTIP negotiations threaten new powers, less accountability and a huge shift towards putting corporate profits before public health. Prime Minister David Cameron has explicitly ruled out excluding public services such as the NHS from its remit." https://lnkd.in/dsTub_g View in LinkedIn

SEE INFOGRAPHIC on TTIP. "As I am typing this, I am becoming more and more aware of how fantastical and exaggerated the potential implications of the TTIP could come across. It all sounds like the plot to a Marvel super-villain comic. In fact, this is probably one of the agreements best tools – it seems too crazy to be true. But this is reality." https://lnkd.in/d3KpSH4 View in LinkedIn

THE MODERN CIGARETTE is different. But quite how different is the issue. Engineered free base nicotine is comparable in addiction to illegal drugs today. These changes in tobacco have not needed to be disclosed, because it is unregulated, but they represent a remarkable change in the landscape. View in LinkedIn