Brussels, 21 st September 2016 Dear Dr Russel, The medical and academic professions must play a lead role in tackling the tobacco pandemic, which causes the death of 700.000 European 1 and 480.000 US 2 citizens every year. This is without factoring all the suffering, disability and personal tragedy linked to tobacco use, which can never be quantified. We, at the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) would like to express our strong concern over the participation of a renowned academic such as yourself at the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) 2016 event, taking place in Brussels, Belgium, from the 27 th to the 29 th of September 2016. We could not help but notice that the event is heavily sponsored directly by the tobacco industry or its front groups. As you might not have noted, representatives from the industry, as well as its advocacy groups, have been invited to present or sponsor specific sessions: • The tobacco industry is well represented with sessions organised by Japan Tobacco International (JTI), British American Tobacco (BAT), Reynolds American; • The Confederation of European Community Cigarette Manufacturers (CECCM) is a European Union lobbying organisation funded and controlled by the tobacco industry. It promotes what it calls "reasonable and workable tobacco regulation" in the EU. It is an observer member of the Tobacco Industry Platform and provides secretarial services for it. 3 • Ian Paisley is known to have received hospitality money from tobacco industry 4 ; • PriceWaterhouseCoopers are “independent experts” commissioned by BAT; • Nicoventures is a company set up in 2010 by BAT, which focuses exclusively on the development and commercialisation of regulatoryapproved, non-tobacco nicotine products. 5 1 http://ec.europa.eu/health/tobacco/policy/index_en.htm 2 http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/ 3http://www.tobaccotactics.org/index.php/Confederation_of_European_Community_Cigarette_Manufacturers 4 http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/ian-paisley-and-danny-kinahan-received-1650-rugbyworld-cup-hospitality-packages-from-tobacco-firm-jti-gallaher-34267409.html