Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg-Wikipedia , ex-Mayor of New York, has devoted much of his time and fortune to anti-smoking campaigns. In September 2019, his philanthropic arm made a $160 million three-year commitment to anti-vaping campaigns with goals including enacting bans of all flavored e-cigarettes. While this endeavour is led by Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, his funding and influence are not confined to the United States alone.

Nicotine Products

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

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.

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 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 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 WHO/FCTC recommends prohibition when possible, and the government thinks it’s possible. Countries that follow 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 WHO’s tobacco control programs is provided by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

2015 Nov - Tobacco control in Mexico

• 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 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)

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

Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK)

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.

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.

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) 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.

Suggestions to add to this page

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

• Public-health experts say that e-cigarettes play an important role in getting people to stop smoking.

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.

2012: Why Mike Bloomberg loves this Pinoy group

• Health Justice (Philippines) gets a grant from Mike Bloomberg to implement its tobacco control plans

Highlight Guide

• Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK)