Bloomberg Philanthropies has named the organisations to lead a new $20 million global tobacco industry watchdog, STOP (Stopping Tobacco Organisations and Products), to counter tobacco industry influence and reduce tobacco use.

The organisations selected to direct STOP are: University of Bath (United Kingdom), the Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (Thailand), and International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (France), according to a Bloomberg Philanthropies press release.

“All of the groups taking part in this effort have a strong history of fighting back against the tobacco industry’s tricks,” Michael R. Bloomberg, WHO global ambassador for non-communicable diseases and Bloomberg Philanthropies founder, said in the release.

The partnership will expand tobaccotactics.org, the Tobacco Atlas and the Tobacco Industry Interference Index [pdf]. It will also “publish investigative reports detailing the tobacco industry’s lobbying tactics and marketing strategies, and will provide tools and training materials for low- and middle-income countries to push back against the industry’s influence,” according to the release.

“All of STOP’s work will support the World Health Organization (WHO) and its efforts to curtail global tobacco use, including implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,” states the press release.

Image Credits: Bloomberg Philanthropies.