"Asia is now the priority target for the world anti-tobacco movement": attempts by the tobacco industry to undermine the Asian anti-smoking movement.
OBJECTIVE
To identify and examine the strategies utilised by multinational tobacco companies to undermine and discredit key anti-tobacco activists and organisations in the Asian region.


METHODS
A series of case studies drawing upon material gathered through systematic reviews of internal tobacco industry documents.


METHODS
Tobacco industry documents made public as part of the settlement of the Minnesota Tobacco Trial and the Master Settlement Agreement.


RESULTS
The industry sought to identify, monitor, and isolate key individuals and organisations. The way industry went about fulfilling this mandate in the Asian region is discussed. Industry targetted individuals and agencies along with the region's primary anti-smoking coalition.


CONCLUSIONS
Attack by multinational tobacco companies is a virtual quid pro quo for any individual or agency seriously challenging industry practices and policies. Understanding their tactics allows anticipatory strategies to be developed to minimise the effectiveness of these attacks.
Knight
J
J
School of Public Health, Room 129A, Edward Ford Building (A27), University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia. knightj@health.usyd.edu.au
Chapman
S
S
D001208:Asia; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D003255:Consumer Organizations; D006801:Humans; D008119:Lobbying; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012919:Social Behavior; D019460:Tobacco Industry / Q000379:methods*