NATT

Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals

The Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) was founded by Corporate Accountability International in the spring of 1999 to broaden support for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). NATT members emphasize grassroots organizing, and are located in the developing world.

NATT works to ensure a strong, unified voice for the global tobacco treaty, to institute effective controls over tobacco corporations. NATT also contributes to the establishment of broad global standards that hold corporations accountable for policies, practices, and products that endanger human health and the environment.

NATT is made up of more than 100 organizations in 50 countries, including consumer, environmental, fair trade, human rights, faith-based and corporate accountability organizations.

Corporate Accountability International and NATT played a vital role in mobilizing global support, especially in developing countries, for the adoption of the global tobacco treaty by the World Health Assembly in May 2003. NATT members also pushed for effective advertising and promotion limits and measures that restrict tobacco industry interference in public health policy. Those curbs on the industry have been written into the treaty.

Corporate Accountability International and NATT, along with our allies in the Framework Convention Alliance, continue to campaign for effective implementation and enforcement of the treaty.

Click here for a list of NATT members.

Stories from NATT Members

 

Zambia on the front lines

Tobacco use is increasing in Zambia, particularly among children, and it continues to wreak havoc on the country’s health and economy. But the Zambia Consumers Association is on the front lines of the global campaign to challenge Big Tobacco.

 

Attempting to Influence Legislation and Treaty enforcement in Latin America

In November 2004, Peru became the 40th country to ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control—the threshold for the global tobacco treaty to enter into force. By May 2005,BAT had sent the Peruvian Health Ministry suggested tobacco control legislation favored by the tobacco industry. The tobacco industry wasted no time in trying to water down the country’s tobacco control legislation.

 

Attempting to Influence the National Standards Organisation of Nigeria
 

In Nigeria, BAT’s efforts to influence government and regulatory institutions are most visible in its partnership with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the Consumers Protection Council, two government institutions that regulate tobacco products and marketing.

 

Sadly, BAT has nearly turned these two organizations into an arm of its corporate network through legal agreements that authorize the company to provide logistical support and capacity building training for both government institutions. Neither BAT nor the government will disclose what the government is giving the corporation in return. While the details of the agreement remain a secret, BAT has donated vehicles to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria.

 

India’s Model for Monitoring Implementation of the Global Tobacco Treaty and Successfully Challenging Industry Interference
 
According to the WHO, five million people around the world die each year from tobacco related illnesses. Nearly 800,000 of these deaths occur each year in India. With a population of more than one billion people, India is critical in the movement to reverse the global tobacco epidemic. In response to this staggering death toll, the Indian government was a courageous leader in the creation of a strong enforceable global tobacco treaty and was the 8th country to ratify the treaty. Now, as countries around the world implement the treaty, India is once again leading the way in implementing, monitoring and enforcing the treaty.
 

 

Guatemala: Ratifying the FCTC Despite Philip Morris’ Slick PR & Lobbying

In Guatemala, Philip Morris is using an increasingly common tobacco industry tactic: publicly claiming support for the tobacco treaty then pressing for implementing legislation that is significantly weaker than the treaty itself. With this approach, tobacco corporations try to cultivate positive public recognition for supporting the treaty, while working behind closed doors to undermine its most central provisions.

 

Costa Rica: Overcoming the Tobacco Industry’s Influence over Legislators

The FCTC calls for strong, enforceable protections from tobacco products. Considering the tobacco industry’s dependence on weak regulation for its expansion, it’s no surprise they’re working against an enforceable treaty that protects people. And since Costa Rica is a political leader in the region and home to British American Tobacco’s (BAT) Central American headquarters, the country is a high priority for public health advocates and the tobacco industry.