Controlling Corporate Influence in Health Policy Making?: Implementation of Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Residual Opportunity Structures for Policy Influence, and Political Adaptation

The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) stands to significantly reduce tobacco-related mortality by accelerating the introduction of evidence-based tobacco control measures. However, the extent to which states have implemented the Convention varies considerably. Article 5.3 of the FCTC, is intended to insulate policy-making from the tobacco industry’s political influence, and aims to address barriers to strong implementation of the Convention associated with tobacco industry political activity. This working paper summarises the results of an ongoing project which quantitatively assesses implementation of Article 5.3’s Guidelines for Implementation, evaluates the strength of Parties’ efforts to implement specific recommendations, and explores how different approaches to implementation expose the policy process to continuing industry influence. Despite a majority of parties reporting some action in accordance with the Article, our findings indicate that its implementation creates a wide range of residual opportunities for policy influence.