Alleged Violations of Tobacco Control and Other Laws

Tobacco companies aggressively block, weaken, and undermine policies designed to protect public health and reduce tobacco use, and at times they have been found to work outside of countries’ laws. In multiple instances tobacco companies have been found to have violated the law.

In 2013, Sri Lankan media carried reports that Ceylon Tobacco Company, a unit of British American Tobacco, allegedly tried to bribe health minister Maithripala Sirisena to stop new rules requiring graphic health warnings on tobacco products which would inform smokers about the health hazards of smoking and encourage smokers to quit and prevent nonsmokers from starting to smoke.