International trade agreements

The liberalization of international trade in the latter half of the twentieth century has been associated with an increase in tobacco consumption levels in many countries and regions. [1]  

Market liberalization today continues to raise concerns about the likelihood of growth in some tobacco markets, as multinational tobacco companies move into developing countries, where domestic regulation of the tobacco industry is not always as strong as it is in countries with a longer history of tobacco control.

International trade agreements also have implications for the way in which countries are able to regulate the tobacco industry domestically.  While international trade agreements usually make allowance for the pursuit of domestic public policy, they generally also impose conditions on the adoption of domestic public policy measures. 

Given the influence of international trade agreements over domestic regulation and policy, public policy advocates, including tobacco control advocates, can play a valuable role in monitoring developments in international trade, and conducting advocacy around related issues of public policy that arise.

[1] Taylor A, Chaloupka FJ, Guindon E, Corbett M (2000). "The impact of trade liberalization on tobacco consumption", Chapter 14 in Jha P and Chaloupka FJ (eds) Tobacco Control in Developing Countries, Oxford: Oxford University Press.