Michael Bloomberg

Burning Issues: Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2020

Michael Bloomberg (Wikipedia)

From humble beginning to billionaire, Michael Bloomberg's story finds a home on this wiki because of his epic battle to end the use of nicotine around the world. He joined the war on smoking years ago and has branched out to working to abolish most forms of consumer use of nicotine. Some think of him as a generous saint working to make the world a better place. Others have referred to him as creating a nanny state, controlling, a philanthropic capitalist and of philanthropic colonialism. He has donated billions of dollars to many causes. We'll explore some of those causes below. The exploration won't be limited to just nicotine, so we are able to get a more clear picture of the man behind the billions.

Nicotine Products

Bangladesh

Bloomberg Initiative Grants - Bangladesh (Way Back Machine)

• Grants cover several years. Most of the recipients received more than 1 grant. Grants recipients include:
  • Action in Development - AID
  • Alliance for Co-operation and Legal Aid Bangladesh (ACLAB)
  • Association for Community Development (ACD)
  • Bangladesh Health Foundation
  • Bangladesh Institute of Theatre Arts (BITA)
  • Bureau of Economic Research
  • Campaign for Good Governance (SUPRO)
  • Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB)
  • Dhaka Ahsania Mission
  • Environment Council Bangladesh (ECB)
  • Grambangla Unnayan Committee
  • Healthbridge
  • Human Development Research Centre (HDRC)
  • National Anti Tuberculosis (TB) Association of Bangladesh (NATAB)
  • National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh
  • National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC) - Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • PROGGA
  • Shimantik
  • Tobacco Control & Research Cell (TCRC) - Dhaka International University (TCRC Link not working - Tobacco Poster link not working)
  • UBINIG (PVT) Ltd.
  • Unnayan Shamannay
  • Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust
  • Young Power in Social Action (YPSA)

Human Development Research Centre

• 2012 to 2015 - HDRC’s advocacy has facilitated in increasing the price of harmful tobacco products
  • HDRC conducted series of research-based studies advocacies with towards an effective tobacco taxation in Bangladesh. This was supported by Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK)
  • The MPs were continuously sensitized in one-to-one basis. As a result of those sensitization activities, a good number of MPs issued DO letters to National Board of Revenue in favor of increasing tax on all tobacco products.
  • The concerted efforts of HDRC—ensuring proactive participation of the active tobacco control groups in Bangladesh—pursued the government to revise the tax structure which significantly increased the price of the tobacco products.
• 2015 - DEVELOPING ADVOCACY MATERIAL FOR POLICY MAKERS IN THE NATIONAL PARLIAMENT FOR AN EFFECTIVE TOBACCO-TAX SYSTEM IN BANGLADESH, CONDUCTED FOR CTFK AND BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES (YEAR 2015)
  • Note: Not in English
• 2015 - DEVELOPING ADVOCACY MATERIAL FOR REVISED TOBACCO-TAX SYSTEM IN BANGLADESH, CONDUCTED FOR CTFK AND BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES (YEAR 2015)
  • Tax and Policy suggestions
  • Keywords: Human Development Research Centre, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids , (CTFK)
• 2015 - DEVELOPING A PROPOSED TOBACCO-TAX POLICY 2015 FOR BANGLADESH, CONDUCTED FOR CTFK AND BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES (YEAR 2015)
  • Keywords: Human Development Research Centre, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2013 - ADVOCACY FOR EFFECTIVE TOBACCO TAXATION IN BANGLADESH, CONDUCTED FOR CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS (CTFK))
  • The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Taxation in Bangladesh

Young Power in Social Action (YPSA)

• 2017-2018 - 1st August 2017 to 31st October 2018 (Phase 5) - Smoke Free Local Government and Public Spaces
  • Supported by: Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) & Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2018 Aug - YPSA participated in Bangladesh Tobacco Control Leadership Program in Cox’s Bazar
  • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Bangladesh Center for Communication program jointly organized the Bangladesh Tobacco control leadership program from 28th July to 2nd August at Ocean Paradise Hotel, Cox’s Bazar. Around 80 participants from anti tobacco organizations, government officials, media representatives and anti tobacco activists across the country participated in the program.
• 2018 Aug - Meeting with Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives held in Dhaka
  • The meeting was organized by Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, initiated by YPSA, DAM, ACD and AID Foundation and supported by CTFK, The Union & Bloomberg Philanthropies.
  • Md. Khairul Alam Sheikh, Coordinator (Joint Secretary), National Tobacco Control Cell, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shared a presentation on “Tobacco Control in Bangladesh and Local Governments Roles & Responsibilities.”
• 2015-2017 - 15th April 2015 to 14th April 2017 (24 months) - Smoke Free Local Government and Public Spaces
  • Supported by: Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) & Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2017 Mar - YPSA organized workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Noakhali”
  • YPSA and ABSA jointly organized a workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Noakhali” with the assistance of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2017 Feb - Tobacco control issue to incorporate as agenda in MCM – Deputy Commissioner of Comilla
  • YPSA and Shristi Somaj Kollan Sangstha jointly organized a workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Comilla” with the assistance of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2017 Feb - Workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Chittagong” held with government officials
  • YPSA organized a workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Chittagong” with the assistance of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2017 Feb - Workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Rangamati” held with government officials
  • YPSA organized a workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Rangamati” with the assistance of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2016 Sep - Workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Lakshmipur” held with government officials
  • YPSA, GEMS and DC Office of Lakshmipur district jointly organized a workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Lakshmipur” with the assistance of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2016 Apr - Workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Brahmanbaria” held
  • YPSA and DC Office of Brahmanbaria district jointly organized a workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Brahmanbaria” with the assistance of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2016 Jan - Workshop on Implementation of Tobacco Control Law held in Cox’s Bazar
  • PSA and DC Office of Cox’s Bazar district jointly organized a workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Cox’s Bazar” for the government officials with the assistance of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2015 Dec - Workshop on Implementation of Tobacco Control Law held with government officials in Feni
  • YPSA organized a workshop on Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Feni with the assistance of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2015 Dec - Workshop on Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Khagrachari held
  • YPSA and Civil surgeon Office of Khagrachari district jointly organized a workshop on Implementation of Tobacco Control Law in Khagrachari with the assistance of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Philanthropies
• 2015 Oct - Representatives from US based organization CTFK met mayor of Chittagong City Corporation
  • 10 million BDT has been allocated in the current fiscal year’s budget for tobacco control initiative. Said mayor of Chittagong City Corporation AZM Nasir Uddin in a courtesy meeting with the representatives of US based organizations Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), Bloomberg Initiative (BI) and leading NGO of Chittagong YPSA.
• 2015 Oct - Symposium on Global Tobacco Control titled “Learning from the Experts: A Course for Healthcare Professionals” held
  • The leading social development organisation of Chittagong, YPSA and Dhaka based organisation, BCCP (Bangladesh Center for Communication Program) jointly organized a symposium on Global Tobacco Control titled as “Learning from the Experts: A Course for Healthcare Professionals” on 11th October’15, in Southern Medical College and Hospital, Chittagong. The event has described a free, online training program called “Global Tobacco Control: Learning from the Experts.” to the participants of the symposium. The Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH-IGTC), a partner in the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, introduced this web-based training program.
• 2014 Nov - Divisional workshop on “Implementation of Tobacco Control Law” held in Cox’s Bazar
  • The workshop was organized by Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Office with the support of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), Bloomberg Philanthropies and YPSA.
• 2011 Dec - KhagraChori Pouroshova set to prepare the smokefree guideline
  • The training were arranged by YPSA with the support of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Initiatives (BI).
• 2011 Dec - Nowakhali Pouroshova declared as Smoke Free
  • The training was arranged with the support of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Initiatives (BI), in cooperation with a local organisation named ABSA
• 2011 Aug - Civil Surgeon Office of Brahmanbaria declared “100% Smoke Free Workplace”
  • The meeting was organized by YPSA with the support of CFTFK and Bloomberg Initiative.
• 2011 Jul - Smoke free coalition formed in Laxmipur
  • The meeting was organized by YPSA with the support of CFTFK and Bloomberg Initiative.
• 2010 Dec - Chittagong City Corporation has declared smoke free by the mayor, Mr. Mohammed Manjur Alam
  • The meeting was held at Abdul Sattar Auditorium of Chittagong City corporation office on 6th December 2010 with the assistance of Bloomberg Initiatives and Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK).
• 2010 Aug - YPSA’s Participation in the 2010 Global Tobacco Control Leadership Program in Baltimore, USA
  • The Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH), Baltimore, USA has organized 5th Annual Global Tobacco Control Leadership Program, a two week leadership training program from 19th to 30th July 2010 to build effective capacity for tobacco control. As part of the Bloomberg Initiative, the 2010 Leadership Program aims to build leaders in countries experiencing the greatest burden of disease from tobacco use.
• 2010 May - Bangladesh 2nd Sub-National Smoke-Free Project Workshop ended
  • YPSA and PROGGA jointly arranged the 2nd Sub-National workshop, three day long, on Smoke Free issue titled as “Bangladesh 2nd Sub-National Smoke-Free Project Workshop” in Chittagong on 17th to 19th May, 2010 which is supported by Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Bloomberg Initiatives.
  • The workshop was addressed by the honorable Deputy Secretary (WHO) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOH&FW) Mr. Md. Rafiqul Islam Sarker, and Senior Assistant Secretary (WHO) Ms. Nasrin Mukti, Coordinator of National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC) Dr. Iqbal Kabir from MOH&FW, Director-Grants of CFTFK Ms. Pamela Sumner Coffey, CEO of BCCP Mr. Mohammad Shahjahan, Technical Consultant of The Union Mr. Md. Akramul Islam, Program Officer of CFTFK Ms. Anu Khanal, Research Assistant Ms. Hema, Chief Executive of YPSA Md. Arifur Rahman, Chairman of PROGGA were addressing the opening session of the workshop. The workshop is participated by the representatives from different organizations from all over the country who are working on Smoke free issue. The organizations are: WBB Trust, ACLAB, AID, ACD, SCOPE, NATAB, Shimantik, RAAC/AID, YPSA and PROGGA
• 2010 Mar - Orientation Workshop on Smoke Free Policy held in Comilla
  • YPSA organized a Orientation Workshop on Smoke Free Policy in Comilla on 1st March with the assistance of Bloomberg Initiatives and Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK).
• 2010 Jan - Course on Management and Leadership accomplished in India
  • The Union organized a Course on Management and Leadership from 11th to 18th January held in Bhubaneswar, Urissa, India with the assistance from Bloomberg Philanthropies. A total of 23 participants from Bangladesh and India have participated in the course. 8 participants from Bangladesh including 2 Deputy Secretaries to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bangladesh and 6 from different NGOs participated in the course.
  • The course contents were Policy of tobacco control, BI (Bloomberg Initiative) goals and resources, Smoke free policy, Leadership issues, FCTC, The role of The Union India Office in tobacco control...
• 2009 Dec - Mayor of Cox’s Bazar municipality declared smoke free Municipality office premise
  • YPSA has been implementing a project on “Promoting smoke free local Government and Public spaces in Chittagong Division” with the assistance from CFTFK and Bloomberg Initiatives since April 2009.
• 2009 Nov - Bangladesh Sub-National Smoke-Free Project Workshop ended
  • The two –day workshop today, on 12th November 2009 ended at YPSA-HRDC, organized by YPSA and PROGGA in cooperation with Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), The Union and Bloomberg Initiatives.
  • The workshop is participated by the representatives from different NGOs, around the country, working on the Smoke-Free Campaign like- WBB Trust, ACLAB, AID, BICD, ACD, BCDP, PUP, NATAB, Shimantik, Chittagong City Corporation, Darpan-Comilla, Cox’s Bazar Municipality, Feni Human Development Foundation, YPSA and PROGGA.
• 2009 Aug - Media should actively come forward to support the Smoke Free Campaign
  • Media should contribute to ensure the proper implementation of the Smoke and Tobacco Control Act and Rules.’ Speakers said in a meeting that organized by YPSA, on 27 August 2009 in Chittagong, on “Smoke free Work and Public Place: Duties of Media” under the program of “Promoting Smoke Free Local Government and Public Spaces in Chittagong Division” supported by CFTFK and Bloomberg Initiatives.
• 2009 Jul - CTFK, Bloomberg and The Union Representatives visited YPSA
  • Ms. Pamela Sumner Coffey, Director, International Grants of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) accompany with Ms. Kelly Larson, MPH from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Delhi office and Mr. Md. Akramul Islam, Technical Consultant from The Union visited YPSA and reviewed YPSA project titled ‘ Promoting Smoke Free Local Government and Public Places in Chittagong Division’ on 21 July ’09 in YPSA head office.
• 2009 Apr - Management and Leadership Training Course by The UNION
  • Mr.Nazmul Haider , Program Officer of YPSA recently participated in the Management and Leadership Training Course organized by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union ) at Hyderabad , India from 30 March – 7 April 2009 . The course was supported by Bloomberg Initiative for Tobacco Control

2013 Jun 14 - Bangladesh Enacts New Anti-Tobacco Rules

• Bloomberg Philanthropies grantees and Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance members persistently supported the amendment through innovative public campaigns

India

2021 Mar 19 - Michael Bloomberg turns the dial on Indian health policy

• Keywords: Bloomberg, WHO - World Health Organization

2020 Oct 22 - The Unfolding Tragedy of India’s Vape Prohibition

• In 2019 India passed a ban on vapor products. The measure came with strict consequences. A first-time violation can lead to a year in prison, and a $1,400-equivalent fine; additional offenses can mean all the way up to five years in prison, and a $7,000 fine.
• The Indian government owns a significant stake in the nation’s largest tobacco company, ITC, and India itself is one of the biggest tobacco cultivators on the planet. So “if you want to fight Big Tobacco in India,” said Aryan Sharma, “you have to fight the government itself.”
• Meanwhile, supposed philanthropic savior and nicotine prohibitionist Michael Bloomberg, a financial backer of The Union, has also sought to influence tobacco control in India so much so that his charity has repeatedly been under investigation by Indian authorities.
• See Also: THE UNION CONGRATULATES INDIA FOR PROTECTING NON-SMOKERS AND YOUTH BY PASSING THE PROHIBITION OF ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES ACT 2019
  • The Union and partners began collaborating with Indian Ministries of Health at the national and state levels in 2013 to support the formulation of an e-cigarette position.

2020 Oct 15 - Bloomberg’s War Chest Probed

• Association Vapers India (AVI) said: “These international NGOs directly fund government departments and state tobacco control programs, which shouldn't be allowed as receiving money directly from private entities creates massive conflict. “While India moves to tighten FCRA laws, these foreign NGOs and their local grantees have broken and continue to break laws - one of them, Burning Brain Society, is filing court cases with this money which violates FCRA norms. So entrenched is this cartel that when a government official questioned this foreign funding, he was promptly booted out and the bar on the errant NGO quickly lifted. Emboldened, these foreign NGOs are now proposing highly discriminatory policies like banning less harmful alternatives in developing nations but not in the West -- yes, in countries where harm prevention is vital as people have low access to healthcare.”

2015 Nov - Tobacco control in India

• Keywords: World Health Organization (WHO), Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), Bloomberg Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI), MPOWER, National Tobacco Control Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, National Conference on Tobacco or Health, Ministry of Finance, National Consultation on Economics of Tobacco, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI)
• WHO has provided support for the National Tobacco Control Programme by building human resource capacity through training and hiring 18 tobacco control consultants (15 state consultants and three national consultants). These consultants have now been absorbed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as part of its staff to implement the national tobacco control programme.

2007 - Burning Brain Society

• Archived Version (Way Back Machine)
• Bloomberg Initiative To Reduce Tobacco Use Grants Program - See "India" (Note: On April 10, 2021 5:30am CST this link is not working. Reviewing the main page, it works, but the links to "Previously Funded Projects" and "Bloomberg Initiative Partners" are no longer working.)
• Monitoring and Exposing Tobacco Industry Malpractice and disseminating that information to the media, law-enforcers and decision-makers in India. Oct 2007 - Dec 2008

Latin America (Mexico, Central America, South America, Caribbean)

2021 Apr 27 MEXICO’S NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLISHES “ENDS REPOSITORY”

• With support from The Union, Mexico’s National Institute of Health conducted a systematic literature review of nearly one thousand articles published between 2017 and 2020.
• As The Union documents in its May 2020 position paper, “Where Bans Are Best,” novel products, including ENDS and heated tobacco products (HTPs), threaten the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Our position, which is also supported by this new evidence base, is that low- and middle-income countries must apply the precautionary principle and ban these products before they threaten to derail tobacco control progress and hook a new generation of users.

2021 Mar 25 - Scandal in Mexico

• In addition to the arbitrariness in the legislative process, it was discovered thanks to the document metadata that a prediction of the Mexican Parliament that proposes bans on vaping was written by an Argentine lawyer advising the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), an anti-vaping NGO financed by Michael Bloomberg. In the metadata of the official document, the Argentine lawyer Gianella Severini, appears as the author of the PDF, who is the legal advisor for Latin America of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) for the “Promotion of public health policies for the prevention of obesity and tobacco control.”
• For many years, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), a US transnational organization with strong operations in Latin America, has based its actions on a clear and manifest incitement for governments to establish public policies based on their spectrum of interests and within their ideological field.
• “It is curious that in the metadata of said document, a person named Gianella Severini appears as its author, the legal advisor for Latin America for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) , which, together with The Union, both financed by Bloomberg Philanthropies, have its parameters of action influence the public policies of third world countries to seek laws that prohibit the use of said alternatives. These NGOs have also put money in Conadic, the INSP and different state health secretariats. It is worth mentioning that some time ago Undersecretary López Gatell has been linked to these positions and financing.

2021 Mar 16 - Interests behind Lopez-Gatell and Medel would attack e-cigarette

• Carmen Medel, president of the Health Committee of the Chamber of Deputies wishes to impose a bill that seeks to ban e-cigarettes when the overwhelming majority of lawmakers who have put forward initiatives in this regard propose otherwise. Undersecretary of Health, Hugo López-Gatell, supports this prohibition bill. It is interesting that the opinion of law was drafted by Gianella Severini, Argentina, who works for the organization Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) , anchored with money from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Foundation. This is not the first time Lopez-Gatell has been related to this organization even though he denies the bond.

2020 Dec 18 Censorship and exclusion: the real situation of vaping in Mexico

• Congresswoman Medel never explained the reasons for this exclusion. However, SS officials have been known to consistently claim (privately and online) that those who oppose or disagree with their position on vaporizers are agents of the tobacco companies. With this argument they argue that article 5.3 of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) prohibits any dialogue with them.
• In the forum in question, Mr. Erick Antonio Ochoa, director of the Salud Justa civil association, linked to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and the Bloomberg Foundation, emphasized this idea. He dedicated himself to slander Pro Vapeo México as the “front” of the tobacco industry, without providing any proof of his accusations. It is curious that Salud Justa accuses an association like Pro Vapeo México, which lacks a bank account, of having conflicts of interest, while Mr. Ochoa does not declare his sources of financing and the conflicts of interest of his own association.
• There is no doubt that Dr. López-Gatell follows the agenda suggested by the document "When Banning Is Better" of *The Union Against Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases (The Union). It instructs the governments of low- and middle-income countries (PIMBs) to ban rather than regulate "SEAN" (electronic nicotine delivery systems).

2020 Oct 1 - Roberto Sussman (GTNF) Global Tobacco Nicotine Forum

• These are nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies and associated charities like the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) , acting in synergy with small but influential groups of health professionals clustered in the tobacco control sections of government public health institutions.
• One of the most powerful officials in the government of Lopez Obrador is Dr. Hugo Lopez-Gatell. He’s an epidemiologist, and he has strong links with the Pan American Health Organization and with Bloomberg Philanthropies. He’s also the health minister. And at the same time, together with this appointment was a massive increase of lobbing activity by Bloomberg Philanthropies in the whole region,” says Sussman. “This [is] how Bloomberg works in our countries. First, they set up NGOs that they use as lobbying machines. This lobbying is done through the World Health Organization (WHO) or the Pan American Health Organization. Now, health ministries and government, they get grants from Bloomberg, but they will never say [that].”

2020 Jun 17 - Bloomberg’s War on Vaping Expands to Latin America and Beyond

• Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is a well known public figure in the U.S. However, most Americans are unaware of the overwhelming influence of his philanthropy on public health policies (sugar, food and tobacco/nicotine) in Latin America and in LMICs elsewhere in the world. This influence is exerted through the political framework of the World Health Organization (WHO), either directly or indirectly via various Bloomberg-funded NGOs.
• There are structural reasons for Bloomberg’s philanthropy to focus its efforts on LMICs: (1) these countries often welcome external private funds given the chronic lack of resources and personnel in their health ministries and public health institutions, and (2) most governments of LMICs are non-democratic regimes, with vertical, non-transparent public health bureaucracies always ready for wheeling and dealing. Thus, all it takes for a policy to be officially enacted is to lobby and convince the head of government, or a sufficiently influential group among high-ranking health officials.
• Spanish version available here

2020 Feb 24 - Mexico Bans Import of All Vaping Products, Cites World Health Organization (WHO) Guidance

• However, the primary reason cited for the ban is the ideology of the World Health Organization (WHO) and its Bloomberg-funded tobacco control arm the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC).
• The bottom line for Mexico is that World Health Organization (WHO)/FCTC recommends prohibition when possible, and the government thinks it’s possible. Countries that follow World Health Organization (WHO) dogma on e-cigarette policy are rewarded with huge grants for public health programs that employ many people. Much of the funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco control programs is provided by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

2016 - Hopkins, ACS & INSP Research for tobacco control in Mexico

• Top national and international research institutions provide evidence to advance tobacco control policy making
• Keywords: Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, American Cancer Society (ACS), Bloomberg Philanthropies, National Institute of Public Health of Mexico (INSP), National Commission against Addictions (CONADIC), Autonomous University of Baja California Sur

2015 Nov - Tobacco control in Mexico

• World Health Organization (WHO) Bloomberg Initiative work in Mexico - The MPOWER measures that Mexico is implementing at the highest level of achievement are: implementing health warnings to warn people about the dangers of tobacco use and offering help to quit tobacco use (cessation programmes).
• In working with the Ministry of Health and other partners, the overall goal of the World Health Organization (WHO)-BI work in Mexico was to support the government to strengthen country’s capacity for tobacco control and run sustainable tobacco control programmes that have an immediate impact on Mexico’s tobacco epidemic.

2012 FIC Argentina

• See photo of financial supporters in the photo section at the bottom of the section on Nicotine / Tobacco. Note Bloomberg under the graphic for Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK / TFKAF)

LMIC's / "Philanthropic Colonialism" (General / Multiple Countries)

2021 Apr 9 - Tobacco Harm Reduction: is there a “philanthropic colonialism” towards developing countries?

• According to many international experts, the initiatives of billionaire Michael Bloomberg promote a distorted approach to Tobacco Harm Reduction and have political repercussions for all smoking reduction policies globally.
• “Science must serve the truth, not interests and ideologies – commented Prof. Riccardo Polosa, founder of CoEHAR and considered the most cited scientist in the world in the field of scientific studies on electronic cigarettes -“ It is easy to cause alarmism by deceiving those who do not have adequate knowledge to evaluate information critically. I find it very dishonest that eminent scientists and philanthropists abuse their position and their knowledge to confuse citizens, journalists and governments.“
• Bloomberg’s philanthropic activities are not limited to the West but, through a complex network of non-profit organizations that finance and influence the process of defining public health policies, also influenced many developing countries.

2021 Mar - 10 reasons why blanket bans of e-cigarettes and HTPs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are not fit for purpose

• In 2020, The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), a Bloomberg partner for ‘The Initiative to reduce tobacco use’, published its fourth position statement on e-cigarettes. In it, The Union called for a blanket ban on all electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and heated tobacco products (HTPs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
• This document presents 10 reasons why The Union's proposal to impose a multi-continental ban on e-cigarettes and HTPs has the potential to cause significantly more harm than good.
  • 1. Bans are an overly simplistic solution to a complex issue and will not work
  • 2. Prioritising the banning of reduced harm alternatives over cigarettes is illogical
  • 3. Reduction and substitution are valid goals for smokers in LMICs
  • 4. People who smoke have the right to choose to reduce their own risk of harm
  • 5. Reduced harm alternatives can significantly contribute to the aims of global tobacco control
  • 6. Lack of research in LMICs is not a valid reason to ban reduced harm alternatives
  • 7. The prohibitionist approach in LMICs is outdated, unrealistic and condescending
  • 8. Bans in LMICs will lead to illicit markets with increases in crime and no tax revenue
  • 9. Banning reduced harm alternatives leads people back to smoking and greater harm
  • 10. Blanket bans in LMICs are a form of ‘philanthropic colonialism’
• Global organisations such as the WHO, Bloomberg Philanthropies and The Union wield great influence in LMICs through sponsorship of healthcare programs and public initiatives. This influence manifests itself through top-down policymaking approaches, telling LMICs what is best for them. To put it bluntly, policies such as these inherently view the inhabitants of LMICs as second-class citizens. These are policy decisions that do not consider individuals, their rights, and their battle to quit or reduce and the difficulties involved. It is wrong to deny more than a billion tobacco users, most of those in LMICs, a voice and a choice. Consumers have the right to be heard.
• See Also: 2021 Mar 16 - Vapers in LMICs Condemn Prohibitions Driven by Western Interests
• See Also: 2021 Mar 16 - INNCO Opposes Bloomberg's "Philanthropic Colonialism"
• See Also: 2021 Mar 16 - INNCO Eviscerates Bloomberg Ban Document

2021 Mar 22 - Ban on Safer Nicotine Products in LMICs to Inflame Smoking Epidemic--Asian Consumers

• "We believe that awareness of and access to reduced-harm products is a fundamental human right, and that denial of this right will prevent significant health benefits in LMICs," Consumer groups in the Asia-Pacific region warned that a blanket ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) in low- and middle-income countries, as proposed by an anti-tobacco non-government organization funded by Bloomberg, will only inflame the smoking epidemic and result in higher death toll from smoking-related diseases.
• Keywords: The Union, Bloomberg, Bloomberg Initiative to reduce tobacco use, MPOWER, WHO,

2021 Feb 2 - Bloomberg’s Philanthro-Colonialism: A Threat to Global Health and Science

• For years, Bloomberg has dedicated considerable amounts to fund a web of financially-linked nonprofits, universities, and activists, coordinating their international effort to foment panic over vaping and coerce governments into adopting rules that get as close to prohibition as possible.
• In accordance with Bloomberg’s agenda, these groups have directed a significant amount of their energy on low- and middle-income countries. Using their money, clout, and connections, they impose their views and will on these nations, without the input of local populations and with little or no regard for their specific circumstances, needs, and values. In the midst of a wave of interest in “decolonializing” public health, this sort of patronizing interference, well-intentioned though it may be, deserves scrutiny.
• In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, for which the international health community was woefully unprepared, it has become clearer than ever how important it is that health policies be based on evidence rather than politics. That an individual like Bloomberg can co-opt governments, health organizations, and institutions into supporting his agenda despite the evidence should alarm everyone, no matter where they live.
• Spanish Translation
• Bloomberg Initiative, *The Union, Bloomberg Foundation, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) , World Health Organization (WHO)

2013 Jul 29 - Philanthropic Colonialism

• Article is not about Bloomberg, but does give some thought provoking input on what philanthropic colonialism is.
• “barging in as outsiders and forcing… solutions on other people’s problems.”
• More on this topic:
  • Philanthropy in Education: What’s the Cost?
  • Why We Need to Overhaul Philanthropy: Interview With Peter Buffett

Philippines

2021 Apr 25 - Bloomberg Blasted for Using Billions to Block Vaccines for Tobacco Company Workers

• Earlier this year, the government of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte came under intense fire for denying tobacco companies access to COVID-19 vaccines imported by the government in partnership with the private sector for employee vaccination programs. The Duterte administration’s decision was based on a 10-year-old policy forbidding government officials from interacting with the tobacco industry. That rule was adopted shortly after the Philippines’ Department of Health and Civil Service Commission received what The Manila Standard described as “massive grants” from Bloomberg’s anti-tobacco Bloomberg Initiative.
• Article then moves on to Bloomberg's environmental activities in the USA

2021 Apr 21 - Groups ask DOH, FDA to stop soliciting Bloomberg money

• “The FDA, an attached agency of the DOH which was tasked to prepare the implementing guidelines for the regulation of vapor products and HTPs, should have not approached and collected money from The Union and Bloomberg Philanthropies in the first place, because these organizations were known for advancing their own anti-vaping agenda globally,”
• "The FDA should prove its independence by drafting regulations that are fair to smokers, vapers and consumers. We hope that the FDA will recognize our rights as consumers of safer and innovative products.”
• "Congress should consider passing laws that prohibit foreign non-government organizations with vested interests from providing grants to regulatory agencies in the Philippines"

2021 Apr 12 - Bloomberg Anti-Nicotine Lobby Among US Backers of Duterte’s Drug War

• Red-tagging is a threatened death sentence to anyone critical of the actions of the Philippine government. Red-tagging lists, featuring the names and faces of people being targeted, are posted on the doors of neighborhood buildings and on social media by Philippine police, military or connected vigilantes. Their message is clear: Quit speaking out or die.
• “It’s hard to believe that Bloomberg Philanthropies and its affiliated tobacco control organizations, The Union and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), didn’t realize that the grants being awarded to enforce tobacco bans in the Philippines (some with unsettlingly aggressive titles such as “Greater Teeth and Tools: Enforcing and Implementing the Tobacco Regulation Act”) could be used to add a further crackdown to the extrajudicial arrests, incarcerations and killings already taking place.”
• “But the truth is, Bloomberg and affiliates were quite aware of what they were doing. This was revealed in October 2020, during public talks hosted by the Philippine FDA (P-FDA) on the topic of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Filipino citizens and stakeholders in attendance voiced concern that the P-FDA authorities charged with making decisions about nicotine policies had been awarded grants by the Bloomberg Initiative and The Union”

2021, Mar 3 - Philippine government warned against NGOs banned by India

• Consumer groups warned the Philippine government against non-government organizations (NGOs) such as those linked to Bloomberg Philanthropies that were banned by India for providing grants to lobby for local policies.
  • The Union, which has co-managed the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use Grants Program, confirmed on its website that it has been working with the DOH since July, 2010

Vaccine Scandal - Unintended Consequences (Philippine)

• A law from 2010 would have banned several large companies, including the tobacco industry, from procuring Covid-19 vaccinations. 1/2 of those were to be administered to employees and 1/2 to the public.
• 2021 Mar 26 - Grubby Money Corrupts Vape Legislation
• 2021 Mar 23 - Lawmakers ask gov’t to repeal ‘unlawful’ CSC circular against tobacco companies
  • Several lawmakers pushed for the immediate repeal of a controversial joint memorandum circular issued by then Civil Service Commission chair Francisco Duque in 2010 following the receipt of grant money from a US lobby group that is now being used as the basis to prohibit tobacco companies from purchasing vaccines for their employees and dependents.
  • JMC 2010-01, which prohibits government officials and employees from interacting with the tobacco industry, was issued in the same year the DOH and the CSC received massive grants from the anti-tobacco NGO Bloomberg Initiative. It was the basis of the DOH’s initial draft regulation barring tobacco companies from obtaining and donating COVID-19 vaccines.
  • Nograles, in a public hearing last week, revealed that JMC 2010-01 was issued by the CSC and the DOH in 2010, the same year the DOH received a huge financial grant from the anti-tobacco NGO Bloomberg Initiative. Secretary Francisco Duque III was the chairman of the CSC, after his tenure as DOH secretary, when the JMC was issued. “It has been revealed that foreign money has been influencing policy making in the DOH for quite some time. In fact, the Congressional hearing revealed at least $2 million in lobby money that has influenced policy coming from Bloomberg alone,” Nograles said. Nograles said the proposed restriction was obviously pushed on the basis of Duque’s deal with Bloomberg and it showed that DOH policies “have already been compromised by foreign money.”
  • “We should not be misdirected by these interest-groups that instead of helping our country in our time of need, work to set us against each other,” Barbers said.
• 2021 Mar 22 - Lobby money linked to DOH order excluding tobacco firms from vaccination

FDA Scandal (Philippine)

• 2021 May 6 - Consumers express alarm over foreign charities’ attempts to defy PH sovereignty Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/?p=1427947#ixzz6u52jv6pT Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
• 2021 Mar 26 - Grubby Money Corrupts Vape Legislation
• Last year, the FDA was cast under a cloud when it emerged it had already received “questionable” Bloomberg money, after first denying they had received funds with an agreement to implement certain policies against tobacco harm reduction products. They didn't admit it until after being called out and presented with the evidence. They admitted to actively seeking funding from out of the country NGO's. An investigation was called. None of this made any difference as the Administration decided to plough on with its proposals despite the public consultation remaining unfinished. Representitive Estrellita Suansing called the move “premature” and “deplorable”. The FDA said the NTCP which is under the Department of Health is also receiving grants for the project. The FDA received a grant from Bloomberg with regards to strengthening its regulatory functions on tobacco control. The articles and blogs below tell the story...
  • Keywords from the linked articles:
    • The Union
    • Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use Grants Program
    • Global Implementation Programme (by The Union)
    • STOP
    • Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK)
    • World Health Organization
    • Asian Development Bank
  • 2021 Mar 19 - FDA admits hiring people to draft regulations on vapes using anti-tobacco money
  • 2021 Mar 17 - Foreign NGO pushing for ban of cigarette alternatives funded drafting of PH regulations
  • 2021 Mar 17 - FDA admits getting over $150,000 from anti-tobacco NGO to regulate vapes
  • 2021 Mar 17 - Total ban on flavored vapor products pushed
  • 2021 Mar 10 - Suansing calls ‘deplorable’ FDA’s premature issuance of vape, HTP regulations
  • 2021 Feb 2 - Bloomberg’s Philanthro-Colonialism: A Threat to Global Health and Science
  • 2021 Jan 27 - Bloomberg faces mounting pressure to explain FDA funding
  • 2020 Oct 23 - Philippines: Public Consultations on Vapes Halted as FDA Hid Funding
  • 2020 Oct 20 - Consumer group eyes filing graft charges against FDA
  • 2020 Oct 15 - Bloomberg’s War Chest Probed
  • 2020 Oct 11 - House leader seeks probe on grants given to FDA by anti-tobacco groups

2012 Mar 23 - Why Mike Bloomberg loves this Pinoy group

• Health Justice (Philippines) gets a grant from Mike Bloomberg to implement its tobacco control plans
• This same night that philanthropist and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced giving US$220M more for the global work on eliminating tobacco use --bringing his total commitment to $600 million -- he recognized HealthJustice Philippines for its contribution to the cause.
• The Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use is the world's largest coordinated effort to reduce harm caused by tobacco globally. The MMDA smoking ban program is, in fact, a recipient of a P9.5-M grant from the Bloomberg Initiative.
• Bloomberg, since he became mayor of New York in 2002, has implemented strict tobacco control laws. In 2007, he launched the Bloomberg Initiative, as part of the Bloomberg Philanthrophies, and has since supported tobacco control work in 38 countries.

United States

2021 Apr 27 - A Menthol Cigarette Ban Would Perpetuate the Racist War on Drugs

• In 2013 a coalition of health “charities” funded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, initiated a citizen petition requesting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban menthol cigarettes. But, after years of ignoring the petition, the coalition—now joined by the NAACP and others—sued to force the FDA to respond, which experts believe the agency will do in the next few weeks.
• Referenced Petition: Citizen Petition Asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Prohibit Menthol as a Characterizing Flavor in Cigarettes
  • Written by: The Tobacco Control Legal Consortium. The Consortium’s affiliated legal centers include ChangeLab Solutions in Oakland, California; the Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation & Advocacy at the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore, Maryland; the Tobacco Control Resource Center, a project of the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts; the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project at the Center for Social Gerontology in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the Public Health Law Center at the William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota; the Tobacco Control Policy and Legal Resource Center at New Jersey GASP in Summit, New Jersey; and the Center for Public Health and Tobacco Policy at New England Law in Boston, Massachusetts, which provides technical assistance to communities in the state of New York. All of the Consortium’s affiliated legal centers join this petition.
  • Signed by: National Latino Alliance for Health Equity, Dr. Valerie B. Yerger (individually - Naturopathic Doctor and Health Policy Researcher at the University of California, San Francisco - Board member, African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council - Board member, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights - Board member, National African American Tobacco Prevention Network **Dr. Yerger’s organizational affiliations are included for identification purposes only), National Association of City and County Health Officials, NAATPN, Summit Health Institute for Research and Education, Corporate Accountability International, Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids ((CTFK),) American Public Health Association, Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence, c/o UMDNJ — Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Tobacco Dependence Program, American Lung Association, Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL), American Legacy Foundation, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society — Cancer Action Network, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Cancer Research, African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council,

2021 Mar 10 - California: BLOOMBERG SPENDS ON ANTI-TOBACCO REFERENDUM

• Michael Bloomberg has ponied up $667,000 for the campaign defending a ban on flavored tobacco products in California. Bloomberg’s money is going to The Committee to Protect California Kids, a coalition of groups including the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, PAVe (Parents Against Vaping e-Cigarettes) and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) .

2019 Oct 3 - Conservative Groups Urge President Trump To Protect Vapers from Flavored Product Ban

• Billionaires like former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg have long attempted to curtail individual rights and consumer freedom in the United States. He has already committed nearly $1 billion to anti-tobacco efforts globally, in seeking to influence organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and fund research that demonizes adult smokers and adult vapers. On September 10, he announced a $160 million push to ban flavored e-cigarettes in America. Given your administration’s historic accomplishments and deregulatory agenda, it would be a mistake to allow HHS and the FDA to take marching orders from activists like Mike Bloomberg.

Vietnam

2021 Jan 29 - Vietnam Urged to Set its Own THR Rules

• The International Network of Nicotine Consumers Organizations (INNCO) is urging the Vietnamese government to exercise “true independence” in its regulation of tobacco harm reduction (THR) products, warning that failure to adopt evidence-based guidelines will lead to substandard products and economic development losses.
• INNCO’s concerns stem from the possibility that regulations will be drafted by the Vietnam Tobacco Control Fund, a long-time grantee of The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (*The Union), a Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded organization that has repeatedly called for worldwide bans on all electronic nicotine delivery systems and other THR products in low- and middle-income countries.

Funding Anti-Nicotine NGO's, Organizations, Groups, Projects, Causes, etc.

American Cancer Society (ACS) / American Cancer Society Action Network (ACSCAN)

2019 Sep 10 - ACS Press Release: Bloomberg Philanthropies Launches New $160 Million Program to End the Youth E-Cigarette Epidemic

• The three-year program will be led by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), which will partner with other leading organizations including parent and community groups concerned about the nation’s kids and health.
• “The American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network are proud to join Bloomberg Philanthropies and our public health partners in this new campaign to work to reverse the youth e-cigarette epidemic across the country by prohibiting flavored tobacco products including e-cigarettes and compelling the FDA to swiftly exercise its authority granted by Congress to aggressively regulate all tobacco products."
• Keywords: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Action Network ACS / ACSCAN, Truth Initiative, American Lung Association, CDC Foundation, American Heart Association, CVS Health, American Academy of Pediatrics

2018 Jul - The American Cancer Society Public Health Statement on Eliminating Combustible Tobacco Use in the United States

• Alternative link

Burning Brain Society (India)

2007 - Burning Brain Society

• Archived Version (Way Back Machine)
• Bloomberg Initiative To Reduce Tobacco Use Grants Program - See "India" (Note: On April 10, 2021 5:30am CST this link is not working. Reviewing the main page, it works, but the links to "Previously Funded Projects" and "Bloomberg Initiative Partners" are no longer working.)
  • Monitoring and Exposing Tobacco Industry Malpractice and disseminating that information to the media, law-enforcers and decision-makers in India. Oct 2007 - Dec 2008

(CTFK / TFKAF) Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and Tobacco Free Kids Action Fund

Nonprofit Explorer Research Tax-Exempt Organizations

• TOBACCO FREE KIDS ACTION FUND (TFKAF) - TAX-EXEMPT SINCE MAY 1996
• Nonprofit Tax Code Designation: 501(c)(4)

Nonprofit Explorer Research Tax-Exempt Organizations

• CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS (CTFK) - TAX-EXEMPT SINCE MAY 1996
• Nonprofit Tax Code Designation: 501(c)(3)

2020, Mar 31 - Anti-Vaping Group Suspends Plan to Pay For ‘Mom Tweets’

• The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), a group funded in large part by Bloomberg Philanthropies, has suspended a social media “pay-for-play” marketing push that would have given moms $250 to send out anti-vaping messages in their personal feeds.
• “We’re looking for influencers to do 3 social shares on their platform… across 6 weeks, starting March 18,” the pitch said. And the right people — moms with 4,000 or more social media followers and at least one kid between the ages of 9 and 18 — would get paid $250 sending out three tweets over six weeks.
• Another requirement to collect the marketing money? “Confirm that you have never recommended e-cigarettes as a means to quit smoking.” This is an odd request for a group that purportedly wants to reduce the number of smokers, given the studies showing vaping is one of the most successful smoking-cessation options.
• Julie Gunlock of the Independent Women’s Forum isn’t surprised anti-vaping groups are targeting women. “Fear is one of the biggest motivators for moms,” she told InsideSources. “Women respond to these messages because they fear for their children. Which means that moms in the ‘stroller brigades’ as they’re known are the perfect candidates for spreading those fears.”

2019, Sep 10 - A New Effort to End an E-Cigarette 'Epidemic'

• Bloomberg Philanthropies announced Tuesday it is joining forces with the nonprofit Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) on a $160 million initiative.

Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use

• Since 2007, Michael R. Bloomberg, philanthropist and former mayor of New York City, has committed nearly $1 billion to combat tobacco use worldwide, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) is one of the partner organizations that coordinate activities under this initiative, which is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and known as the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.
• As part of this initiative, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) provides legal, communications and research support to governments and non-governmental organizations around the world to assist in promoting, adopting and implementing tobacco control policies. Also as part of this initiative, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) works with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) to provide grants to governments and non-governmental organizations in low- and middle-income countries to accelerate progress in tobacco control.
• Other partners in this initiative are:
  • CDC Foundation
  • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • World Health Organization
  • Vital Strategies
  • International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union)
  • University of Illinois at Chicago

1997 May 14 - National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids Launches World Wide Web Site

• Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK)
• Other interesting features of the Web site include:... Interactive Calendar, featuring tobacco-related events of more than 120 member organizations...

1996 Feb 13 - New Umbrella Group Created For Tobacco-Free Children

• Anti-tobacco groups announced yesterday the creation of a new umbrella organization based in Washington to sponsor, coordinate and encourage efforts to stop children from smoking, sniffing and chewing tobacco. The National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids, is being set up with a $20 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, $10 million from the American Cancer Society, and several smaller donations from other groups like the American Medical Association and the American Heart Association. (Learn more about RWJF here)
• Many of the same groups had previously supported the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), a lobbying group set up last fall to support the Food and Drug Administration's proposal to sharply restrict the sale, distribution and marketing of tobacco products.

1996 to 2007 - Program Results Report / An RWJF Collection

• Full Report here.
• (CTFK / TFKAF) promotes policy and environmental changes that will prevent and reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, especially among children, as well as changes that will minimize the harm caused by tobacco. Other funders include the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
  • William Novelli, co-founder of the social marketing firm Porter Novelli, served as CTFK's first president. Matt Myers, a civil rights attorney and former executive director of the Coalition on Tobacco OR Health, joined CTFK at the same time as vice president; he became president in 1999 when Novelli resigned to become the CEO of AARP.
  • The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation established the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids in 1995. (Learn more about RWJF here)
  • RWJF provided startup funds through grants to Development Communications Associates ($267,676) and the American Cancer Society ($489,890).
  • January 1996 RWJF's Board of Trustees authorized $20 million for five years for the start-up of the Center.
  • Renamed Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) in 1996)
  • Launched Kick Butts Day in 1996
  • Created Youth Advocates of the Year in 1998
  • January 1999, the Board authorized an additional $50 million for a five-year period to continue the work of the Center.
  • Launched Faith United Against Tobacco in 2002 to mobilize faith communities of all denominations to support proven solutions to reduce smoking.
  • October 2003, the Board authorized an additional $14 million for a three-year period to continue the work of the Center.

Data for Health Initiative

• Today, approximately half of all deaths in the world go unrecorded, and health policy decisions are often based on inadequate information. Data for Health helps low- and middle-income countries collect better public health data.

Australia

• Global Health Information Infrastructure: $100m Philanthropic Grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies
  • A new paradigm for aid programs is being realised today with the announcement by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Australian government of the $100m Data for Health initiative. In the first phase of this initiative, the University of Melbourne has received a $10 million philanthropic grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to provide the principal technical guidance in establishing the Data for Health initiative.

United States

• Data for Health Initiative
  • CDC is collaborating with Bloomberg Philanthropies, CDC Foundation, and other partners to work toward strengthening public health systems in low- to middle-income countries across Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI)

• The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), a program of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) , draws on lessons from tobacco control and its growing experience on other public health issues to support policy change campaigns around the globe to improve health. To date, that work includes food policy and cardiovascular health, road safety, drowning prevention, preventing epidemics, and vital statistics.
• As part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Food Policy Program (FPP), GHAI supports civil society organizations to pass and implement key policies to develop healthier food environments, including: taxes on unhealthy food and beverage products; mandatory front-of-package nutrition warning labels; restrictions on marketing of unhealthy food products to children; and regulating the supply of unhealthy products in public sector environments, particularly schools. GHAI is also a partner on Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), an initiative of Vital Strategies that seeks to prevent millions of deaths from cardiovascular disease through regulations to ban industrially produced trans-fatty acides (TFA), sodium reduction strategies, and other policies.

Tobacco Online Policy Seminar (TOPS)

• Over the past 10 years, executive board members received funding from the following organizations for tobacco research:
  • Maclean: American Cancer Society, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health Pesko: American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and the University of Kentucky’s Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise
  • Shang: American Heart Association, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, Presbyterian Health Foundation, Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, World Heart Federation
  • White: Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, Alameda County Public Health Department, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Cancer Center UK, Hellman Family Foundation, International Development Research Centre, National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Learn more about RWJF here), UCOP Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program

University of Illinois at Chicago

• Tobacconomics is directed by Frank Chaloupka, PhD, and administered by the Institute for Health Research and Policy of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

World Lung Foundation

• Wikipedia
  • WLF is a partner in the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The goal of the Initiative is to reduce tobacco use in low- and middle-income countries, where 80% of the 6 million deaths resulting from tobacco use took place in 2011. WLF = funds and supports mass media ad campaigns on the harmful effects of smoking and other forms of tobacco use. WLF has supported 80 tobacco control mass media campaigns in 20 countries. WLF disbursed millions from Bloomberg Philanthropies to The International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (*The Union), the World Health Organization, the Framework Convention Alliance, and the CDC Foundation to strengthen their tobacco control activities and to support its own mass media programs. Other partners in the Bloomberg Initiative are Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Nicotine Foes - Friends / Associates of Bloomberg

PAVe (Parents Against Vaping e-Cigarettes)

Nonprofit Explorer Research Tax-Exempt Organizations

• PARENTS AGAINST VAPING E-CIGARETTES INC - TAX-EXEMPT SINCE APRIL 2019
• Nonprofit Tax Code Designation: 501(c)(4)

2021 Apr 7: Clear the Vapor Conference 2021: The Way Forward

• Sponsors:
  • $50,000 - CVS Health
  • $25,000 - Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), Truth Initiative
  • $10,000 - RESCUE - The Behavior Change Agency
  • $5,000 - Soter Technologies
  • $2,500 - American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
• Collaborators: African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC), CATCH Global Foundatioin, The Center for Black Health and Equity, Stanford Medicine Tobacco Prevention Toolkit
• Speakers, Moderators, and topics:

PAVe: (See bio's and speaking topics of the PAVe moms on the conference website)

Dina Alessi

Meredith Berkman

Mimi Boublik

Lori Bremner

Christina Curell

Dorian Fuhrman

Erin King Sweeney, Esq.

Maren Lopez

Julie Reinhard

Opening Keynote:

Nora D. Volkow, M.D. (Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA))

Lawmakers Video Comments:

Richard Blumenthal

Dick Durbin

Raja Krishnamoorthi

Frank Pallone, Jr.

Mitt Romney

Other Video Comments:

Stanton Glantz (retired University of California San Francisco)

Noah Joshua Phillips (Commissioner Federal Trade Commission)

The Role of Schools: Best Practices and Innovations -

Donna K. Crawford (Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools and Communities Program and Healthier Generation’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion efforts funded by the RWJF),

Jeremy Hansen (Assistant Principal, Achievement Office, Rancho Cucamonga High School),

Steven Kelder, PhD, MPH (University of Texas, School of Public Health, was a research fellow at CDC, was one of four senior scientific editors of the Surgeon General Report on E-cigarettes and Youth, he created CATCH My Breath - the first evidence-based middle school e-cigarette prevention program),

Gregg H. Wieczorek (Principal, Arrowhead Union High School, Wisconsin; President-elect, NASSP)

Youth Addiction and Treatment: Challenges and Opportunities:

Jonathan Avery, MD (Weill Cornell Medical College)

Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, PhD, (Yale University School of Medicine, leads the NIH and FDA funded Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science at Yale which is developing scientific evidence to support tobacco regulation. has contributed to the Surgeon General’s report on “Preventing Tobacco Use among Young People”, served as a member of the FDA’s Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory Committee and currently serves on the Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health)

Dr. Monica Wilson (Assistant Professor / Regional DIrector, Psychology Department: National University; California PAVe Volunteer)

Federal Issues in 2021 and Beyond:

Mark Gottlieb, JD (Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University {involved with one of the lawsuits against JUUL})

Robin Koval (Truth Initiative)

Matthew L. Myers (Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) )

The Next Trojan Horse: "Wellness" Vapes and Other New Products:

Dr. Alicia Casey (Boston Children's Hospital, Founded the Pulmonary Vaping Program, Member of the Massachusetts Special Legislative Commission on Vapes, Juuls, and other E-Cigarettes)

Jensen Jose, JD (Center for Science in the Public Interest who is partially funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies) :::Achala Talati, DO, MS, MPH (Director, Tobacco Policy and Programs NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)

Emerging Health-harms Research:

Jessica L. Fetterman, PhD (Boston University School of Medicine, American Heart Association Tobacco Regulatory Science and Addiction Center (A-TRAC), Affinity Research Collaborative in Tobacco Regulatory Science)

Panagis Galiatsatos, MD, MHS (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Director of Tobacco Treatment Clinic at Johns Hopkins)

Candace McKnight (Orlando Health/ PAVe Florida Advocate, son is an EVALI victim)

Karen Wilson, MD, MPH (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Tobacco Consortium)

State Attorneys General and the Use of Litigation:

Maura Healey (Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General)

Josh Stein (Attorney General North Carolina

Fighting Menthol: Past, Present and Future:

Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher (Stanford University/Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, Her research is funded by the NIH and many foundations)

Joelle Lester (Public Health Law Center)

Carol McGruder (African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council)

The Environmental Impact of E-cigarettes:

Hudson Kingston (Public Health Law Center)

Jeremiah Mock (University of California San Francisco)

Youth Perspective: Ask Us Anything

Daniel Jeffrey Ament (Fight4Wellness, EVALI victim)

Gianluca Barecchia

Jessica Jordan (National LGBT Cancer Network)

Liv, Deidre Sully, MPH

How to Speak to Your Child About Vaping

Dr. Sarper Taskiran (Child Mind Institute; PAVe Advisory Board Member)

Reaching Spanish-speaking Parents with Youth Vaping Prevention

Marcela Gaitán, M.P.H., M.A. (The National Alliance for Hispanic Health {The Alliance}, National Hispanic Leadership Network for Tobacco Control {The Network, funded by the CDC}, International Health Training Program at the Pan-American Health Organization {WHO/PAHO})

Norma Benitez (National Director of the Network of Promotoras and CHWs with Vision y Compromiso,)

Youth Prevention Efforts in Spanish-Speaking Communities

Alison K. Herrmann, PhD (UCLA Kaiser Permanenete Center for Health Equity & UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, working on a couple of e-cigarette research projects funded by funded by the California Tobacco Related-Disease Research Program (TRDRP) and National Cancer Institue (NCI) and Vision y Compromiso)

Eduardo Sanchez, MD, MPH, FAAFP (Chief Medical Officer for Prevention American Heart Association,

Sponsored Breakout: Tackling the Continuum of Teen Vaping: Prevention, Intervention, & Cessation Messages that Work:

Jeff Jordan, MA (Rescue - The Behavior Change Agency, Rescue’s work includes the FDA's national tobacco prevention campaign for multicultural teens and its LGBT young adult effort)

Big Tobacco’s Exploitation of Communities with Health Inequities

Gabriel Glissmeyer (National LGBT Cancer Network)

Rae O'Leary, (Missouri Breaks Research on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, testified to the U.S. Congress on the youth e-cigarette epidemic and JUUL’s attempts to target Native people)

Nicotine Foes - Efforts tied to CTFK / TFKAF (Who receives Bloomberg funding)

CVS

2016 Mar 19 - CVS Health Foundation Awards Grants to Anti-Smoking Campaigns

• The CVS Health Foundation, in partnership with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), has announced seven grants that are part of a $5 million, five-year commitment to programs aimed at educating young people about the dangers of tobacco.
• Announced on "Kick Butts Day," the initial grants in CVS Health's five-year, $50 million Be the First initiative were awarded through the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) Making the Next Generation Tobacco-Free program. Recipients include:
  • Southeastern (Connecticut) Regional Action Council
  • New Jersey Global Advisors on Smokefree Policy (GASP)
  • Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center
  • North Carolina Alliance for Health
  • National Association of School Nurses
  • Arizona UMOM New Day Centers
  • Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership
• Press Release

2015 Mar 23 - CVS Health Foundation Launches $5 Million Tobacco-Prevention Effort

• Five-year, $5 million initiative aimed at reducing tobacco use among young people.
• Launched in partnership with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK)
• Inaugural round of grants totaling $250,000 awarded to:
  • BREATHE California of Los Angeles
  • California School-Based Health Alliance
  • Health Promotion Council of Southeastern, PA
  • Ohio Public Health Partnership
• Press Release

P.S. What about Hale and investors in the project?

2021 Feb 9 - ¿Qué se Esconde Tras la Vapeo-Fobia de Michael Bloomberg?

• What's Hiding Behind Michael Bloomberg's Vaping-Phobia? (Used Google Translate to convert from Spanish to English)
• The problem is that one of the investors in the company is none other than Michael Bloomberg himself . Through a venture capital consortium called Village Global, Bloomberg has provided seed capital to Hava, the creator of Hale.

Bloomberg / Person / Business / Foundation / Initiative / Philanthropies

• Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies

2021 Mar 31 - Mike Bloomberg's foundation kept funding a $220 million global-health initiative after learning of sexual-harassment claims against one of the project's leaders

• Lopez denied these allegations, but the investigator classified them in a September 2019 report reviewed by Insider as "on the balance of probabilities ... proven," and found that three other allegations from Frederes had elements that could be substantiated.
• See also: Melbourne Uni allowed ‘sexual harasser’ professor to keep jobs
  • Professor Lopez, 69, was chief epidemiologist for the World Health Organization / Organisation's (WHO) tobacco control program during the 1990s.
• Keywords: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Vital Strategies, University of Melbourne, Data for Health Initiative, World Health Organization (WHO), John Hopkins University, CDC Foundation, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK)
• Follow up: Melbourne University loses funding partner over sexual harassment case

2020 Bloomberg Philanthropies 2020 Public Health Report

• Highlights the initiatives worked on in many areas of Public Health around the world.

1990 The Portable Bloomberg: The Wit & Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg (from 1990)

• 2020 Article
• This booklet was given to Mike Bloomberg on his 48th birthday in 1990. It was produced by Elisabeth DeMarse, Bloomberg L.P.’s former chief marketing officer. “Yes, these are all actual quotes,” DeMarse wrote in the introduction. “No, nothing has been embellished or exaggerated. And yes, some things were too outrageous to include.”

1999 Michael Bloomberg's Terminal Velocity

• Article about his business endevours, his companies, and the people who work for him.

Questions about Bloomberg's Tobacco Control Efforts

2021 Apr 12 - Bloomberg Anti-Nicotine Lobby Among US Backers of Duterte’s Drug War

• Red-tagging is a threatened death sentence to anyone critical of the actions of the Philippine government. Red-tagging lists, featuring the names and faces of people being targeted, are posted on the doors of neighborhood buildings and on social media by Philippine police, military or connected vigilantes. Their message is clear: Quit speaking out or die.
• “It’s hard to believe that Bloomberg Philanthropies and its affiliated tobacco control organizations, The Union and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) , didn’t realize that the grants being awarded to enforce tobacco bans in the Philippines (some with unsettlingly aggressive titles such as “Greater Teeth and Tools: Enforcing and Implementing the Tobacco Regulation Act”) could be used to add a further crackdown to the extrajudicial arrests, incarcerations and killings already taking place.”
• “But the truth is, Bloomberg and affiliates were quite aware of what they were doing. This was revealed in October 2020, during public talks hosted by the Philippine FDA (P-FDA) on the topic of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Filipino citizens and stakeholders in attendance voiced concern that the P-FDA authorities charged with making decisions about nicotine policies had been awarded grants by the Bloomberg Initiative and The Union”

2021 Mar 23 - Bloomberg’s Millions Funded an Effective Campaign Against Vaping. Could It Do More Harm Than Good?

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• Kenneth Warner, a University of Michigan scholar, says “Michael Bloomberg did some great things for public health, but he is way off base on this.”
• The e-cigarette debate is about social justice as well as public health. Much of the outcry about vaping has come from well-educated, well-to-do, and well-connected parents who want to protect their kids. By contrast, the people that smoke, who might benefit from switching to e-cigarettes, tend to be poor and less educated; people of color, especially Native Americans; gay or lesbian; homeless or incarcerated; and those with mental-health or other substance-abuse issues. They lack political clout.
• The challenge for foundations and nonprofits concerned about health is to act (or choose not to act) amidst contentious debate and scientific uncertainty. For now, virtually all of the philanthropic money driving the conversation — overwhelmingly from Bloomberg but also from the corporate foundation of the drugstore chain CVS -- has come down strongly against vaping.
• Ethan Nadelman, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, says: “There is essentially no philanthropic funding to support harm reduction.”
• Anti-smoking charities that had cautiously recommended e-cigarettes as an alternative to smoking for people who can’t quit reversed themselves. The lung and heart associations and the cancer society all get grants from Bloomberg Philanthropies, either directly or through Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK).
• David Sweanor calls the anti-vaping nonprofits Big Tobacco’s Little Helpers.
• Follow the money
  • $160 million, three-year anti vaping campaign (USA)
  • Bloomberg Philanthropies has committed nearly $1 billion to combating tobacco (nicotine) (Worldwide)
  • Bloomberg flexed his financial muscles: He contributed $9.4 million of his own money to the San Francisco anti-vaping campaigns in 2018 and 2019. The American Heart Association gave another $612,000
  • Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) gave about $300,000 to a Boston charity called Health Resources in Action
  • The Truth Initiative spends about $100 million a year on marketing, advocacy, and research.
• Keywords: Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), Truth Initiative, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Learn more about RWJF here), Health Resources in Action, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, San Francisco Kids vs. Big Tobacco, Bloomberg Philanthropies,

Response to above article:

First from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), and the Truth Initiative (See first letter on the page) and the second response from Eric N. Lindblom, O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law, and former director of the Office of Policy at FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products from 2011 to 2014 (see second letter on the page): Vaping and Philanthropy: Debating Strategies That Work

A conversation with philanthropy journalist Marc Gunther by: MICHAEL E. HARTMANN

• 2021 Mar 30 - Part 1 of 2
• 2020 Mar 31 - Part 2 of 2

2021 Apr 1 - Holding the Bloomberg anti-vaping propaganda complex to account

• Clive Bates analyzes and responds to the letter to the editor submitted by representatives of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) , and Truth Initiative. In detail he discusses:
  • No sign of debate about strategies that work
  • Dismissing credible and well-informed critics
  • Misunderstanding adolescent vaping
  • Misrepresenting the role of flavours in vaping (flavors)
  • Baseless claims about the vaping industry
  • Alarmist but empty claims about nicotine
  • Banning flavoured e-cigarettes – a campaign that is likely to do more harm than good
  • Claiming credit for reductions in vaping achieved by misleading claims about lung injuries
  • Tobacco control as inflexible dogma locked in the past
  • Smears and innuendo
  • Displaying basic misunderstandings about tobacco harm reduction
  • Missing the point about vaping regulation
  • In denial about evidence for smoking cessation but prohibitionist anyway
  • Anti-industry war-cry to deflect attention from their own weaknesses
  • The question of accountability
  • Other relevant material

Reg Watch Bloomberg Series

• 2021 Mar 28: NO SHAME Bloomberg’s War on Vaping Part 1: Samrat Chowdhery
• 2021 Mar 31: CALL IT COLONIALISM Bloomberg’s War on Vaping Part 2: Michelle Minton
• 2021 Apr 3: SCRUTINIZED Bloomberg’s War on Vaping Part 3: Dr. Roberto Sussman

Cities / Roads

GRSP partners with Bloomberg Advocacy incubator

• As a component within the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Road Safety Programme, GRSP is partnering with the Bloomberg Advocacy Incubator to build the capacity of grantees of the Road Safety Grants Programme, as well as on-the-ground partner organizations such as Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies, to effectively advocate for the passage and implementation of evidence-based road safety policies.
• The Bloomberg Advocacy Incubator is a partnership between the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK / TFKAF) and Consumers International, and will draw on its teams’ vast experience in providing training and support to civil society organizations, and in the development and management of institutional and individual capacity building initiatives with grassroots associations, NGOs, media organizations and government agencies.

Crime / Stop and Frisk

2020 Feb 11 - 'Throw Them Against The Wall And Frisk Them': Bloomberg's 2015 Race Talk Stirs Debate

• A federal court in New York in 2013 found that stop and frisk systemically violated the civil rights of tens of thousands of mostly black and Hispanic men in New York. The judge called the practice "indirect racial profiling" of young men of color.
• "I can't change history. History, today, I want you to know that I realize back then, I was wrong," Bloomberg said in November.

Environment

2021 Apr 25 - Bloomberg Blasted for Using Billions to Block Vaccines for Tobacco Company Workers

• Since at least 2017, Bloomberg has funneled money to attorneys general offices in nine states and the District of Columbia to essentially underwrite government lawsuits against oil companies. Much of that funding came through New York University law school’s State Energy and Environmental Impact Center. It used a $6 million Bloomberg Philanthropies grant to fund the hiring of “special assistant attorneys general” to help states sue oil companies for their alleged culpability for climate change.
• And despite Bloomberg’s preening about the nobility of his efforts, the AG placement scheme never fully passed the smell test. The Wall Street Journal dubbed it “state AGs for rent.” The Oregon legislature’s top lawyer rule that its state AG’s acceptance of a Bloomberg-funded lawyer was not compliant with state laws and regulations. Even New York had to label Eisenson “a volunteer” to dodge questions and concerns using a privately paid staffer to shape and execute state legal policy.

Food/Beverages

Mexico

2017: Soda Sales in Mexico Continue to Decline Since Sugary Beverage Tax in First Two Years

• Bloomberg Philanthropies Obesity Prevention Program

2013: Bloomberg gets caught up in Mexico soda tax fight

• Bloomberg's charity has contributed to Mexican pro-tax groups.

Guns

2014 Apr 15 - Bloomberg Plans a $50 Million Challenge to the N.R.A.

• Pointing to his work on gun safety, obesity and smoking cessation, he said with a grin: “I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I’m not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It’s not even close.”
• Bloomberg plans to spend $50 million this year building a nationwide grass-roots network to motivate voters who feel strongly about curbing gun violence, an organization he hopes can eventually outmuscle the National Rifle Association. His plan includes motivating Moms to vote on gun issues.

2007 May 21 - Everytown for Gun Safety

• New umbrella group for other gun control groups he funds Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Women

2021 Mar 31 - Mike Bloomberg's foundation kept funding a $220 million global-health initiative after learning of sexual-harassment claims against one of the project's leaders

• Lopez denied these allegations, but the investigator classified them in a September 2019 report reviewed by Insider as "on the balance of probabilities ... proven," and found that three other allegations from Frederes had elements that could be substantiated.
• See also: Melbourne Uni allowed ‘sexual harasser’ professor to keep jobs
  • Professor Lopez, 69, was chief epidemiologist for the World Health Organization / Organisation's (WHO) tobacco control program during the 1990s.
• Keywords: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Vital Strategies, University of Melbourne, Data for Health Initiative, World Health Organization (WHO), John Hopkins University, CDC Foundation, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK)

2020 Feb 24 - Mike Bloomberg Has Been Accused of Having a ‘Woman Problem’—Here’s What That Means

• Bloomberg LP and Mike Bloomberg himself have faced almost 40 employment lawsuits over sexual harassment, wage theft, and more.

2020 Feb 20 - “I’d like to do that piece of meat”: The sexism allegations against Bloomberg, explained

• Nondisclosure agreements, lawsuits, and allegations of sexist comments could be big issues for his campaign.

2019 Nov 26 - Michael Bloomberg built a $54 billion company. For 2 decades, women who worked there have called it a toxic, sexually charged nightmare.

• 64 workers had filed nearly 40 employment lawsuits against Bloomberg LP since 1996

Suggestions to add to this page

Helping people lead tobacco-free lives

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#TobaccoExposed: WHO violates the Framework Convention on Tobacco

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Philanthrocapitalism and crimes of the powerful

• Not about Bloomberg, but great material to think about

Bloomberg Initiative To Reduce Tobacco Use Grants Program

• Previously Funded Projects

2021: We're not impressed Mr. B

• Collection on Facebook about M. Bloomberg. The majority of the posts have something to do with nicotine.

2019: Michael Bloombergs anti-vaping crusade is objectively pro tobacco

• The billionaire busybody is pushing bans on flavored e-cigarettes that offer a harm-reducing alternative to smoking.

Highlight Guide

• (CTFK / TFKAF) Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids / Tobacco Free Kids Action Fund
• CVS
• MPOWER
• PAVe (Parents Against Vaping e-Cigarettes)
• STOP
• The Union
• World Health Organization (WHO)