A cigarette vendor sits behind a pile of empty cartons of foreign and local cigarette brands on a Hanoi street on May 31. Vietnamese smokers can easily buy foreign brands at low prices thanks to persistent cigarette smuggling carried out through Vietnam’s borders with Laos, Cambodia and China. Photo: AFP
Opinion
Opinion
The View
State-owned companies complicate the global fight against tobacco use
- Efforts to curb tobacco have been thwarted in part because half the global cigarette industry is controlled by eight countries who are part of those efforts
- Governments with a stake in the industry should acknowledge the conflict of interest and make a commitment to manage it
A cigarette vendor sits behind a pile of empty cartons of foreign and local cigarette brands on a Hanoi street on May 31. Vietnamese smokers can easily buy foreign brands at low prices thanks to persistent cigarette smuggling carried out through Vietnam’s borders with Laos, Cambodia and China. Photo: AFP
