Brunei has minimal influence over the tobacco business

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Brunei was placed 15th in the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2021, released by Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP), in terms of countries least influenced by the tobacco industry.

Only five countries (Brunei, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, and Uganda) had the least Tobacco Industry (TI) intervention, according to the index, which looked at 80 countries.

Brunei has maintained its code of conduct, which prohibits undue connection between civil personnel and industry.

 

The index assesses the government's response to TI meddling.
Countries that scored high on the rating were able to fend off TI intervention by putting in place safeguards.

The analysis is based on publicly available data about TI interference in countries and the responses of those countries' governments to those interferences.

Countries are rated based on the sum of scores submitted by civil society organisations.
The lower the score, the less interference there is overall, which is good news for the country.

 

The index also ranks how well they've defended their policies from industry influence, and it recounts multiple occasions in which tobacco corporations took steps to keep individuals smoking even when their respiratory health (and other health issues) were in jeopardy.

Perhaps most alarming was the realisation that, even in the midst of an epidemic, with public health and economic stability on the line, the tobacco industry continued to prioritise profits over everything else.

Tobacco industry involvement has been identified as a major roadblock to governments' tobacco control efforts around the world.
Specifically, the TI continued to manufacture, distribute, and sell its products during the global pandemic.