© World Health Organization 2008

“Review of tobacco industry activities in the Eastern Mediterranean Region” is a series of reports on the tactics and plans of the tobacco industry to undermine tobacco control efforts in the Region. The industry’s activities have been widely documented by WHO and its partners, and have also been exposed following the release of the ‘tobacco industry documents’, which present compelling arguments and evidence that the unethical behaviour of the tobacco industry has extended to all levels of society across the Region.

This report reveals the tactics and strategies used by the tobacco industry in the Region generally, and in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council specifically, to promote its deadly product. This report provides a strong argument for combining efforts as the only way to tackle the tobacco problem. It calls for all decision-makers and tobacco control advocates to review and redirect their tobacco control policies in light of the nature of tobacco industry activities.