A new global fund is being launched to help developing countries fend off challenges to tobacco control measures by cigarette makers.
The $4m (£2.7m) fund is a joint effort by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
They say tobacco control gains are being put at risk by the industry’s use of trade agreements and litigation.
But tobacco companies argue they are protecting investments, including intellectual property rights.
The fund has been launched in Abu Dhabi at an international conference on tobacco control.
The former New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said: “The significant gains we have seen in efforts to reduce tobacco use are at risk of being undermined by the tobacco industry’s use of trade agreements and litigation.”
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