{
  "abstract": "In a move that shocked the Australian public health community, on 4 May 2026 Philip Morris was permitted to give evidence in secret at a Senate inquiry into the illicit tobacco trade in Australia. They had not been listed on the schedule of witnesses. The incident undermines more than 15 years of precedent in Australia protecting public health from tobacco industry interference and Australia’s obligations under article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Federal health minister Mark Butler wrote to the committee chair and other members of parliament ahead of the hearing, reminding them of Australia’s obligations under the FCTC and health department guidelines restricting engagement with the tobacco industry, guidelines which specify that any interactions must be transparent.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "College of Medicine & Public Health, Flinders University College of Medicine and Public Health, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia",
        "NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Ruth Canty"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Worldwide news and comment",
  "uid": "ded3aca0-e6f7-597c-a035-e0ec39d5bc21"
}