The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: After the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) creation, the regulatory actions on tobacco, as products control, restriction of ads, regulation of packs, had a great increase in the country. Other countries that ratified the WHO-FCTC and intend to initiate their activities on tobacco control can apply this Brazilian experience. For this, the main characteristics need to be observed in a Regulatory Agency are described below.

Methods: ANVISA was created by Brazilian government, in 1999, with the objective of protecting peoples' health through the control, regulation and fiscalization of products and services. However, it is essential that a Regulatory Agency have legal power to execute these actions. Some conditions are important to legitimate its legal power over the tobacco companies, for the public power and society, and include: 1)Administrative Autonomy: it isn't hierarchically structured under the Health Ministry. 2)Stability of Directors to be relatively free from politic-economic interferences, which can be moved only under restricted situations. 3)Financial Independence: registration fees and fines provide important part of the funding. 4)Enforcement authority: by the power attributed by Law, it exerts enforcement authority, setting norms and rules and imposing penalties to who violate tobacco regulations.

Results: As results of this structure, ANVISA has been able to create new rules that before were impossible to be done, as regulation of pictures on packs and the ads in the sale points, limitation of TNCO contents, banishment of terms as light, low-tar, prohibition of sweets simulating tobacco products, all proposed by WHO-FCTC.