Sophapan Ratanachena-McWhortor is Tobacco Tax Program Manager of SEATCA* & Dr Hana Ross is the Principal Research Officer of Economics of Tobacco Control Project (ETCP) at the University of Cape Town.
Credit: SEATCA
BANGKOK, Thailand, Jul 21 2020 (IPS) – A factoid is unreliable information repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact. One such factoid repeatedly echoed across the globe by the tobacco industry is that tobacco tax increases worsen cigarette smuggling.
For governments facing challenges to curb smuggling, particularly in the global South, this factoid has scared political leaders from effectively using taxes as a public health tool.
…
Rev Liberato C. Bautista is assistant general secretary for United Nations and International Affairs of the . He also serves as president of the .
Coronavirus pandemic threatens crises-ravaged communities, UN appeals for global support. Credit: United Nations
NEW YORK, Apr 23 2020 (IPS) – Since the founding of the United Nations in 1945, space for multilateral policy development and commitment has grown. Its growth in the global health field augurs well as we find ways to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Multilateralism is a difficult word, often misconstrued to be about the global and not the local and daily life. Perception plays a major ro…