Articles

Background Established in 1986, the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) is a charity based in London which aims to “encourage high standards of business behaviour based on ethical values”.1 The IBE originally had a strong Christian base.2 Following the Institute’s reconstitution of its charitable status in 2000, it has fewer religious connections.3 The IBE employed nine…

For the tobacco industry, think tanks play an important role in indirect lobbying of government. Denied direct lobbying access to governments due to Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), an obvious route to influence policy and debate is by funding think tanks. This is called a Third Party Technique. Below is a list…

Background Craig Schwartz was the Senior Vice President of Philip Morris USA and was responsible for ‘Smokeable Manufacturing’ until end of 2013.160 Since early 2014, he has been Senior Vice President of Operations at Nu Mark,part of the Altria group. External Resources Company profile TobaccoTactics Resources Philip Morris International Altria…

Craig Mackinlay is a British Conservative Party (pre-2005 the UK Independence Party) politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Thanet from 2015. The MP has been an advocate for small retailers and has raised concerns about the potential negative impact of illicit tobacco trade on retailers’ businesses. Mackinley sits on the…

Craig A. Johnson became President and Chief Executive Officer of the Altria Group Distribution Company in April 2011.171 Background Johnson’s arm of the business provides sales, distribution and consumer engagement services to Altria companies, working with wholesalers and retailers, and leading on consumer engagement programs.171 TobaccoTactics Resources Altria External Link Altria homepage…

Background Nurses for Reform is a lobby group created in 2007 which gives the impression that within the nursing profession there is a groundswell of opinion for increased private involvement in the NHS. NFR calls itself a “growing pan-European network of nurses” that campaigns for “consumer-led reform” of the healthcare system in Britain and abroad that is based on…

Noriaki Okubo was a Board member of Japan Tobacco Group (JT) from 2004 to 2016.183 Career at Japan Tobacco Okubo joined Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation (now known as Japan Tobacco) in 1983.184 He has held several leadership positions, including: Executive Deputy President (2012 – 2016) Representative Director (2012 – 2016) Senior Executive Vice President…

Forest homepage promotion of No Thank EU campaign October 2013 No Thank EU is a campaign being run by the tobacco industry front group Forest against the EU Tobacco Products Directive Revision known as the TPD. The campaign website was registered in June 2013, 185 and officially launched on 29 July 2013. No Thank EU…

Background Nikos Mertzanidis was the European Union (EU) Affairs Manager of Imperial Tobacco.191 Mertzanidis left Imperial Tobacco in 2015. Lobbying EU Decision Makers In his role as EU Affairs Manager, Mertzanidis helped Imperial Tobacco “contribute to the legislative process via public consultations, public hearings, workshops etc.”192 Mertzanidis was responsible for monitoring legislative proposals in the…

Nigel (Martin) Evans has been the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, since May 2012. Relationship with the Tobacco Industry ‘Wined and Dined’ Philip Morris An article in The Guardian revealed that Evans had hosted a reception for Philip Morris International (PMI) in March 2017. 194 John Whittingdale MP hosted a similar…