World Health Organisation Director-General Margaret Chan struck out at tobacco companies in a speech Monday, accusing them of using “dirty tricks and “scare tactics” to block restrictive industry regulation, reported Agence France-Presse.

Speaking to a regional WHO meeting in Manila, Chan reportedly said tobacco companies are spending substantial amounts on legal challenges of national tobacco legislation that serve to intimidate other countries. The challenges mounted by tobacco against cigarette-packaging restrictions in Australia and Uruguay amount to “scare tactics,” she reportedly said.  
"It is hard for any country to bear the financial burden of this kind of litigation, but most especially so for small countries," she reportedly said. The chief of the UN health authority said countries must resist the tobacco industry to protect the public interest.
Chang said the tobacco industry is “known for its dirty tricks and dirty laundry," AFP reported. "Big tobacco can afford to hire the best lawyers and PR firms that money can buy. Big money can speak louder than any moral, ethical or public health argument and can trample even the most damning scientific evidence" (pi)