About GGTC | GGTC

The Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control

The Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) collaborates with advocates, governments, and institutions worldwide to tackle the single greatest obstacle in tobacco control implementation: tobacco industry interference.

The health and wellness of millions worldwide should not suffer at the hands of the tobacco industry. GGTC’s mission is to empower change-makers by equipping them with cutting-edge strategies and tools. The goal is to promote coherence in tobacco control policies and fight against tobacco industry interference at every level- national, regional, and global.

GGTC’s advocacy work has seen advocates succeed in numerous global campaigns: from tackling tobacco interference on COVID-19 vaccine access to promoting global health approaches free from the influence of tobacco-funded entities such as the Foundation for Smoke Free World (FSFW).

Every two years, GGTC publishes the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index (GTI). This report is a civil society-driven assessment of how public health policies are protected from the tobacco industry's influence. GGTC publishes the Handbook, which documents the best practices in countering tobacco industry interference. It also serves as a convenor and key technical resource for the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA), a movement to align the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) with plastics policies. Additionally, GGTC also convenes and provides technical assistance to the Global Youth Voices (GYV), a movement of youth-led organizations representing over a million of youth worldwide, seeks to make the tobacco industry pay for the harms caused to the planet and its people, not only for those in this generation but also future generations.

From 2017 to early 2023, GGTC served as the WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub on Article 5.3, developing tools such as the comprehensive e-learning platform on Art 5.3, and providing technical assistance to Parties in enhancing the implementation of WHO FCTC Art 5.3. GGTC also established a Resource Database of tobacco industry documents and actors that comply with a mandate from the 8th Session of the COP. Today, GGTC continues to offer technical assistance to countries fighting against tobacco industry interference and maintains a resource hub that offers key materials on good governance in tobacco control, such as toolkits, case studies, and much more.

GGTC is hosted by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) and receives support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, among others.

Mission

GGTC’s mission is to provide the world with strategies and tools to counter tobacco industry interference and promote policy coherence in tobacco control at the national, regional, and global levels.

Host Organization

Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance ( SEATCA )

SEATCA is a WHO World No Tobacco Day awardee, that has two decades of success in assisting developing nations in countering tobacco industry interference (TII). Its pioneering employment of multi-sectoral regional meetings has led to development of anti-TII policies from non-health sectors, including for example the Philippine Civil Service Commission’s “Protecting the Bureaucracy against TII” and the Indonesian Ministry of Education’s Tobacco CSR Ban. SEATCA’s multi-disciplinary expertise, campaign strategy and collaborative actions have been instrumental in monumental policy shifts, including the exclusion of tobacco control measures from the inter-state dispute settlement mechanism (ISDS) of the Transpacific Partnership Agreement and removal of TI sponsorship from the International Trade and Investment Center. It initiated the TI Interference Index, a global civil society index on TII intensity, which serves as the most potent advocacy tool in challenging TII in the region. Started in ASEAN, the index has now been adopted by the Pacific Islands and EMRO countries and is being considered by governments and NGOs in SEARO.

Executive Team

Ms. Bungon Ritthiphakdee

Executive Director

bungon@ggtc.world

Dr. Mary Assunta

Head of Global Research and Advocacy

mary@ggtc.world

Atty. Deborah Sy

Head of Global Public Policy and Strategy

debby@ggtc.world

Ms. Laura Salgado

Head of Campaigns and Partnership

laura@ggtc.world

Partners

GGTC values the work it does with its partners in strategically expanding joint efforts against the tobacco industry.

Bloomberg Philanthropies STOP

Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP) is a global tobacco industry watchdog whose mission is to expose the tobacco industry strategies and tactics that undermine public health. STOP is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and its promise of global industry monitoring was well-received by the tobacco control community which broadly sees a need for a dedicated actor in this area.

Thaihealth

Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), an autonomous state agency, acts as an innovative enabler with the mission to inspire, motivate, coordinate, and empower individuals and organizations in all sectors for the enhancement of health promotion capability as well as public policy.

The Union

The Union is a global scientific organisation with the mission to improve health among people living in poverty. For close to 100 years, The Union has been a leader in the fight against some of the world’s biggest killers, including tuberculosis, lung diseases and tobacco use. Since 2007, The Union has co-led the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use grants programme, working with partners in low- and middle-income countries to support implementation of evidence-based policy change.

University of Bath

The Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG) at the University of Bath (UK) is an internationally renowned team of academics and professionals led by Professor Anna Gilmore. Recognized globally for its work on the tobacco industry, it is at the forefront of the emerging field of commercial determinants of health and home to TobaccoTactics. Drawn from many disciplines, the team researches and analyses tobacco-industry behavior using diverse methodologies, from big data to investigative research. The impact of the team’s work has been recognized globally with awards including the Public Health Advocacy Institute Award and the WHO World No Tobacco Day Award.

Vital Strategies

Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. We work with governments and civil society in 73 countries to design and implement evidence-based strategies that tackle their most pressing public health problems. Our goal is to see governments adopt promising interventions at scale as rapidly as possible.

WHO FCTC Secretariat

The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is the world’s first public health treaty negotiated under the WHO constitutional framework and is currently legally binding in 180 countries and the European Union. The Convention aims to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, economic, social, and environmental impact of tobacco and requires implementation of a comprehensive set of supply and demand reduction measures to this effect.

Work with GGTC

GGTC welcomes passionate individuals who are keen on growing and learning in this exciting arena.
If none, please keep checking this page for new GGTC opportunities. You may also send GGTC an email with any questions or concerns you may have.