Business Day: Michael Bloomberg and STOP have Big Tobacco in their sights
“Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is putting $20m into countering the tobacco industry’s attempts to undermine tobacco control measures, with the creation of a new global watchdog called Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP) that will be run by his foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies. The initiative was launched as the 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health gets under way in Cape Town this week…” (Kahn, 3/7).

The Guardian: Michael Bloomberg launches tobacco industry watchdog
“…The agency will ‘aggressively monitor deceptive tobacco industry tactics and practices to undermine public health,’ said Bloomberg Philanthropies. Global information and data on the behavior of the tobacco companies, especially in low- and middle-income countries where they are seeking to grow their markets, will be collated and held on a public website. The move follows recent uproar among anti-tobacco and public health campaigners over the investment of $80m by the world’s biggest cigarette-maker, Philip Morris International (PMI), in a new body called the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World…” (Boseley, 3/7).