The UN health agency warned that tobacco’s killer toxins also wreak havoc on the environment. [Photo: ITV.com] in Kampala, Uganda, tobacco control advocates have renewed their push for the United Nation’s agency to sever all ties with tobacco companies.
The ILO is the only known UN agency that has long been receiving funds from the tobacco industry for some of its projects, the latest being a public-private partnership with Japan Tobacco International and the tobacco-funded non-profit Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco Growing Foundation. These funds aimed at ending child labour and promoting workers’ rights in tobacco-growing communities in Brazil, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
At the 331st session of the ILO Governing Board in 2017, the body erroneously issued a statement that it would stop taking funds from the tobacco industry and end their public-private partnerships. “To counter the negative press it receives, the industry invests relatively small amounts in corporate social responsibility activities. The returns in terms of public relations and goodwill are extensive.