Struggling to weaken the giant: Litigation as a measure to compel the adoption of tobacco control instrument in Malawi

Abstract

The tobacco companies continue to resist the adoption of tobacco control laws in developing countries
in spite of the predicted high risk of a tobacco epidemic in those areas. In contrast to previous studies
which focused on the developed and middle income countries and concluded that interest groups
impact policy making, this study examines the strategy of anti-tobacco interest groups to promote the
regulation of tobacco smoke in Malawi using data collected through interviews of experts and review of
existing materials on tobacco control. The study finds that the anti-tobacco groups are resorting to
litigation to compel their government to enforce environmental provisions stipulated in the Constitution
and other legal documents as means of regulating tobacco smoke. Finally, it concludes that litigation
for the implementation of legal provisions to protect public health might be the strategy used by
interest groups to regulate substances detrimental to public health in developing countries.