{"id":3039,"date":"2015-03-19T19:51:32","date_gmt":"2015-03-19T19:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3039"},"modified":"2015-03-19T20:02:33","modified_gmt":"2015-03-19T20:02:33","slug":"michael-bloomberg-bill-gates-announce-4-million-fund-to-help-small-countries-fight-big-tobacco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3039","title":{"rendered":"Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates announce $4 million fund to help small countries fight Big Tobacco"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gates<\/a><\/p>\n

John Oliver will be glad to hear this. (Thank you Orcas for the tip on this story).<\/p>\n

Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg announced this week a $4 million fund to help small countries around the world with their legal battles against Big Tobacco. Gates is contributing through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Bloomberg through the Bloomberg Foundation.<\/p>\n

Oliver has been pounding away on this issue<\/a> on his HBO show, “Last Week Tonight.” When small countries attempt to control tobacco branding and tobacco advertising, they get sued by Big Tobacco into submission though world trade agreement laws and courts into dropping their proposals. This has happened in Uruguay, Togo, Ireland and especially Australia (OK, not so small of a country, but it’s been a bloody legal battle there.).<\/p>\n

In this quote from a Guardian article<\/a> about the announcement, Bill Gates said:<\/p>\n

\u201cCountry leaders who are trying to protect their citizens from the harms of tobacco should not be deterred by threats of costly legal challenges from huge tobacco companies.\u00a0Australia won its first case, which sends a strong message. But smaller, developing countries don\u2019t have the same resources. That\u2019s why we are supporting the Anti-Tobacco Trade Litigation Fund with Bloomberg Philanthropies.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Added Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an ominous trend, in some countries the battle between tobacco and health has moved into the courts.\u00a0Governments wishing to protect their citizens through larger pictorial warnings on cigarette packs or by introducing plain packaging are being intimidated by industry\u2019s threats of lengthy and costly litigation. This is an effort to deprive governments of their sovereign right to legislate in the public interest. We will push back hard.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I hope $4 million is just a start, because I suspect the international Big Tobacco companies have a vastly bigger legal war chest than that. Anyway, it’s great that people are recognizing the problem that Oliver has exposed on his show.<\/p>\n

The tobacco industry has been aggressively trying to expand to international markets, since smoking has dropped so dramatically in the West. The industry particularly salivates over Africa, India and Southeast Asia, where laws and governments are weaker and the smoking rates higher than in the West. (The industry would expand into China bigtime if China allowed it, but the tobacco market there is state-controlled.)<\/p>\n

Bloomberg is a noted anti-smoking advocate … you could even call him a zealot (I know some New Yorkers would). As the mayor of New York, he oversaw a number of restrictions on smoking (strict smoking bans not only in bars and restaurants, but in parks<\/a>) and tax increases for cigarettes. He could be accused of taking his health\u00a0campaign\u00a0too far into “nanny state” territory because he also tried to ban large sodas in New York, a move that was ruled illegal by the courts. His heart is in the right place, at least.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Oliver will be glad to hear this. (Thank you Orcas for the tip on this story). Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg announced this week a $4 million fund to help small countries around the world with their legal battles against Big Tobacco. Gates is contributing through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Bloomberg … Continue reading Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates announce $4 million fund to help small countries fight Big Tobacco<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[472,445,292],"tags":[473,448,658],"class_list":["post-3039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bill-gates","category-john-oliver","category-michael-bloomberg","tag-bill-gates","tag-john-oliver","tag-michael-bloomberg"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/gates-bloomberg.jpg?fit=580%2C378&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4hpEa-N1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2474,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2474","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":0},"title":"Smoking rate in New York City goes up","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"September 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Weird story and a little troubling, one that goes against the national trend. Recent data shows that the smoking rate in New York City -- yes, rabidly anti-smoking New York City, has actually went\u00a0up\u00a0from 2010, and not by a tiny amount\u00a0Officials are blaming budget cuts to education for the rise\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Michael Bloomberg"","block_context":{"text":"Michael Bloomberg","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=292"},"img":{"alt_text":"new york city","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/new-york-city-200x149.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2961,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2961","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":1},"title":"And speaking of John Oliver — Ireland fights back against tobacco industry over plain packaging","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A big focus of John Oliver's piece on the tobacco industry was how huge tobacco companies are fighting small nations trying to impose plain packaging laws for cigarettes. Oliver's piece specifically talked about Australia, which won its court case against Big Tobacco, Uruguay and Togo. Here's another country in a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ireland"","block_context":{"text":"Ireland","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=312"},"img":{"alt_text":"743484-ireland-follows-australian-lead-on-smoking","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/743484-ireland-follows-australian-lead-on-smoking.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2942,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2942","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":2},"title":"John Oliver — Meet “Jeff the Diseased Lung” takedown of tobacco companies","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This is really brilliant. John Oliver on HBO dedicated an 18-minute segment to ripping into the tobacco companies for attacking small nations trying to implement anti-tobacco laws. Oliver makes some good points, some I knew about, others I didn't. We all know the tobacco industry is in full-fledged decline in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Australia"","block_context":{"text":"Australia","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=8"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/john-oliver.jpg?fit=946%2C542&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/john-oliver.jpg?fit=946%2C542&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/john-oliver.jpg?fit=946%2C542&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/john-oliver.jpg?fit=946%2C542&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3713,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3713","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":3},"title":"New York City may be next to ban chewing tobacco in ballparks","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"New York City could be soon joining Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco in banning chewing tobacco in baseball parks. A bill has been introduced before the New York City Council to ban chewing tobacco in all ballparks in the city, and this includes Yankee Stadium and the Mets' CitiField.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "baseball"","block_context":{"text":"baseball","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/YankeeStadium-NewYork-SeatingBowl-990x442.jpeg?fit=990%2C465&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/YankeeStadium-NewYork-SeatingBowl-990x442.jpeg?fit=990%2C465&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/YankeeStadium-NewYork-SeatingBowl-990x442.jpeg?fit=990%2C465&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/YankeeStadium-NewYork-SeatingBowl-990x442.jpeg?fit=990%2C465&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3331,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3331","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":4},"title":"Ukraine bails on ridiculous challenge to Australian plain packaging laws","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"June 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is an update on John Oliver's excellent rant about the tactics of Big Tobacco in fighting regulations against their products worldwide. This is complicated and I'm not 100 percent confident I will explain it right, but I will try: Ukraine had been convinced (no doubt by Big Tobacco lobbying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Australia"","block_context":{"text":"Australia","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=8"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/342903-cigarette-packs.jpg?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1087,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=1087","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":5},"title":"New York to restrict candy-flavoured cigars?","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"June 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Candy-flavoured cigarettes have long been banned, but candy-flavoured cigars are still legal. The American Cancer Society is pushing to limit the sales of candy-flavoured tobacco products -- cigars, chewing tobacco and loose tobacco leaf for water pipes -- mostly because it's well-known that these sweetened products are marketed not-so-subtly to\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=1087#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRLJkr91yNRVlFvE-CSvHVfxFOvJHOz-fmSCHNDQpMr1fl9pxe8","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3039"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3043,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3039\/revisions\/3043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}