Tobacco Control Case Study: Brazil

In Brazil, Vital Strategies and its local partners have been focused on tactics used by the tobacco industry to attract new consumers, and in particular, the proliferation of flavored cigarettes. Aware that flavored cigarettes attract young people, the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) published a resolution in 2012 banning additives such as sugar, flavors and aromas in cigarettes. However, in 2013, the industry, represented by the National Industry Confederation (CNI) managed to obtain a provision from the Constitutional Court of Brazil that allowed industries to sell these products until a final decision was determined by the court.

To generate awareness of a need to suspend these provisional measures, Vital Strategies in collaboration with partners at the Tobacco Control Alliance (ACT) developed a campaign targeting courts in Brasília, the capital of Brazil, with messages around the harms of flavored tobacco and its attractiveness to youth.