Gates and Bloomberg team up against smoking
Media entrepreneur and former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg is teaming up with fellow billionaire Bill Gates to help low and middle-income countries fight legal challenges from tobacco companies. Countries like Uruguay and Australia have faced lawsuits from tobacco companies after passing regulations on how tobacco products can be packaged.
Tobacco companies argue these kinds of restrictions violate international trade agreements and World Trade Organization rules. Gates and Bloomberg created the Anti-Tobacco Trade Litigation Fund and seeded it with $4 million to help lower income countries defend their laws.
Click the media player above to hear more.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.