New York Times: Tarred by Tobacco
Editorial Board

“…[David Hakim’s recent New York Times] report found that the [U.S. Chamber of Commerce] has fought tobacco packaging, restrictions on smoking in public spaces, and taxes on cigarettes in countries like the Philippines, Jamaica, Nepal, and Moldova. … The World Health Organization estimates that developing countries will account for 70 percent of the 8.4 million people who die because of smoking-related illnesses by 2020. Now that it is clear what kind of pro-tobacco advocacy the chamber is carrying out, the organization’s members, particularly in the health care industry, ought to speak out. Do they want their names associated with such a blatant attempt to stop governments in developing countries from enacting sensible public health policies?” (7/3).

Washington Post: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce should quit lobbying for tobacco abroad
Editorial Board

“…How does advancing a product that kills people prematurely serve the interests of businesses? The chamber ought to be the first organization to grasp that smoking puts a terrible burden on societies, draining their public health and medical resources and stealing away lives that could be productive for years to come. … A chamber spokesman told us that the organization ‘is not an advocate for cigarette smoking and we know that smoking carries obvious health risks’ but that the group is opposing encroachment on business rights. Does a health warning on a pack encroach on intellectual property of a cigarette company? We doubt it. … The Chamber of Commerce should quit its global advocacy for tobacco and stand up for what really helps business: healthy workers and healthy people” (7/4).