How the Tobacco Industry May Be Compromising the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child :

One of the most important documents securing the health and well-being of children is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified and made effective in 1990. It is the mission of the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs, and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.  One of the rights delineated in the international document is protection from tobacco and its effects on children, something UNICEF took up actively in the 1990s but over the next decade reduced its efforts in this area.  While there are many competing priorities that UNICEF must deal with, Glantz et al. (10.1542/peds.2017-4106) share with us in a special article, the role that the tobacco industry has played with UNICEF that may have redirected the organization from doing even more when it comes to taking stronger action to advocate for meaningful tobacco control.  The authors argue to end of all tobacco partnerships between UNICEF and the tobacco industry.  There is a lot to think about in the contents of this article.  The authors themselves have a long successful track record of discovering the influence of tobacco industry funding in partnering with non-profits like UNICEF and will make you want to read more of their prior work.  Check out this special article and share your thoughts with us on what you think next steps should be for organizations like UNICEF in their interactions with the tobacco industry.  You can voice your thoughts and concerns about this article in the comment section that accompanies this article or on our Facebook or Twitter sites.  While UNICEF does outstanding work on behalf of children, perhaps this article will encourage it to do even more when it comes to fostering more tobacco control initiatives than it seems to have been doing since the start of the 21^st century.  Read the article and learn more.