Inside Advocates

When we speak of "inside" advocates, we mean individuals within the government and others close to those within the government. So inside allies can include:

• People in the government who have the power to make the decisions we need
• People in the government who can best influence the decision makers
• People outside the government who can best influence those inside government. While these individuals are not in the government, we still call them "insiders" because of their influence.

In New Zealand, for example, Helen Clark, as health minister, was committed to tobacco control. Later, as prime minister, she had the power to propose New Zealand's comprehensive tobacco control laws and the support to enact them.

In South Africa, Health Minister Dr. Nkosazana Zuma proved not only a skillful tobacco control advocate, but also a powerful political leader of the governing party—unlike many health ministers. President Nelson Mandela fully supported Minister Zuma's tobacco control initiatives. South African tobacco control advocate Yussuf Saloojee described Zuma as a political "heavyweight" who had Mandela's ear and could push her agenda effectively.

Brazil has made unique progress in Latin America, largely through the inside efforts of Vera Luisa da Costa e Silva and Tania Cavalcante. These individuals within CONAPREV (Tobacco Prevention Unit) and the INCA (National Institute of Cancer in Brazil) quietly but forcefully promoted strong national tobacco control legislation through their government roles.

In Slovenia, Vesna Kerstin-Petric, a counselor to the Ministry of Health, was an effective inside advocate for tobacco control. In Thailand, Dr. Hatai Chitanondh initiated the National Committee for Control of Tobacco Use when he was deputy secretary of the Ministry of Public Health. Both advocates played critical roles in achieving their country's relatively strong tobacco control laws and programs.

In India, a special parliamentary committee was named to hold hearings and make recommendations on tobacco control legislation to the full Parliament. Its members listened carefully to NGO tobacco control advocates, then proposed an even stronger law than the government had drafted.

Insiders

Individuals who enjoy the special trust of key government decision makers are insiders—sometimes called the "golden bullets" of tobacco control advocacy. Examples have included:

• Presidents' wives who took a keen interest and played an important role in persuading their husbands to take leadership in supporting tobacco control laws
• A Catholic archbishop who persuaded reluctant Catholic parliamentarians to cast the deciding votes in support of a strong advertising ban, allocating cigarette-tax revenues to tobacco control programs
• Trusted political consultants who convinced US state governors that tobacco-tax increases had strong support among voters of all parties
• A leading national cancer authority whose personal relations with powerful members of all political parties led directly to overwhelming support of a national ad ban—and the total defeat of tobacco and advertising lobbies
• A successful professional lobbyist for business interests who later became a lobbyist for a cancer society; he used the widespread parliamentary trust and respect he had gained over the years to counteract the influence of the tobacco lobby.