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Bridging the gap between science and public health: taking advantage of tobacco control experience in B razil to inform policies to counter risk factors for non‐communicable diseases
Author(s) -
Costa e Silva Vera Luiza,
Pantani Daniela,
Andreis Mônica,
Sparks Robert,
Pinsky Ilana
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/add.12203
Subject(s) - tobacco control , public health , public policy , government (linguistics) , consumption (sociology) , legislature , population , health policy , political science , economic growth , business , environmental health , medicine , economics , sociology , social science , linguistics , philosophy , nursing , law
Aims and design The historical and economic involvement of B razil with tobacco, as a major producer and exporter, was considered an insurmountable obstacle to controlling the consumption of this product. Nevertheless, the country was able to achieve significant progress in implementing public policies and to take an international leadership position, meeting its constitutional commitment to protect public health. In this paper we provide a brief historical overview of tobacco control ( TC ) in B razil, and analyse the factors that contributed to the major decline in tobacco consumption in the country over the last 20 years, as well as identify the challenges that had to be overcome and those still at play. Findings The Brazilian case demonstrates how cross‐sectorial collaborations among health‐related groups that capitalize on their respective strengths and capacities can help to influence public policy and overcome industry and population resistance to change. Although B razil still lags behind some leading TC nations, the country has an extensive collaborative TC network that was built over time and continues to focus upon this issue. Conclusions The tobacco experience can serve as an example for other fields, such as alcoholic beverages, of how networks can be formed to influence the legislative process and the development of public policies. Brazilian statistics show that problems related to non‐communicable diseases are a pressing public health issue, and advocacy groups, policy‐makers and government departments can benefit from tobacco control history to fashion their own strategies.